Tilson Says Goodbye to Canadarm and the Space Shuttle Program
BOLTON, ON – David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, recently visited MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), in Brampton, ON ...
July 25, 2021
BOLTON, ON – David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, recently visited MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), in Brampton, ON, to mark the end of the 30-year space shuttle program and to say goodbye to one of five original Canadarms. MDA, a provider advanced information solutions, developed the infamous Canadarm at its Brampton location, as the Government of Canada’s contribution to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) shuttle program. The first flight of the robotic arm was in November 1981. NASA ordered four additional arms to supply the rest of its shuttle fleet with their own Canadarms. During its 30-year history, the five Canadarms flew a total of 91 missions for a total of approximately 388 million miles.
Following the formal portion of the ceremony marking the end of the shuttle program, Mr. Tilson toured MDA’s facility, where he was invited to take a close-up look at the one Canadarm’s currently stationed at MDA’s Brampton location. “The Canadarm is a testament to Canadian engineering and ingenuity,” said Mr. Tilson after viewing the robot. “Today, as we say goodbye to the 30-year space shuttle program, we as a country can take great pride in the many contributions we made to this highly successful program and the incredible leaps and strides made in science and technology that resulted from it.”
The Canadarm currently stationed at MDA’s Brampton facility, will soon be returned to the United States, where it will remain permanently. However, the Canadarm aboard the Endeavour space shuttle that was in space from May 16 to June 01, 2011, is the original Canadarm provided by Canada to NASA’s space shuttle program. It will return to Canada for public display in a yet-to-be-determined museum.