Canada to invest C$1.1 bln in satellite tech for better earth data

MDA Space

18/10/2023 13:30

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Canada on Wednesday said it will
invest C$1.01 billion  ($740.90 million) over the next 15 years
in satellite technology to boost the earth observation data that
it uses to track wildfires and other environmental crises. 
    The new initiative called Radarsat+ will gather information
about Earth's oceans, land, climate, and populated areas, a
statement by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) said.
    Data collected from earth observation technologies allows
scientists to see how the planet changes and make decisions to
deal with emergencies like wildfires or longer-term issues like
climate change.
    Canada has previously launched three satellite missions
under the Radarsat program - Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2 and the
Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM). 
    Radarsat-1 has been non-operational since 2013, while space
tech firm MDA  MDA.TO  and CSA operate the other two satellites.
    The investment will also help develop a replacement for RCM,
CSA said. RCM consists of three smaller, more powerful
satellites that provide daily coverage of Canada's coastlines.


($1 = 1.3632 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
 ((Juby.Babu@thomsonreuters.com;))