While it has been in receipt of a concept design order for over six years, the official confirmation of a construction order for three Radarsat Constellation Mission satellites has finally been received by the Canadian spacecraft manufacturer MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd (MDA). The contract worth $706 million contract was signed with the Canadian Space Agency to build, launch and provide initial operations for the three satellite Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM).
RCM will be constellation of three synthetic aperture radar (SAR) carrying spacecraft. Information obtained from RCM can include repeat imaging of the same area at different times of day, improving the frequency of monitoring coastal zones, northern territories, Arctic waterways and other areas of strategic and defence interest. RCM will also incorporate automated identification system technology, which when combined with the powerful radar images, supports the immediate detection and identification of ships worldwide.
