After a long delay, Telesat’s ambitious low-Earth orbit satellite project is finally under way, giving work to aerospace company MDA’s Quebec facility.
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Telesat on Friday confirmed it had been awarded a $2.1 billion contract to MDA to build 198 satellites. These are designed, assembled and tested at the Ontario company’s facilities in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue on Montreal’s West Island.
This is the largest contract MDA has ever won.
Telesat screenshot
Telesat also announced on Friday that it has completed funding for its near-Earth satellite project, called Lightspeed. The total cost is now $3.5 billion, down $2 billion from previously announced. The number of network satellites has been reduced from 298 to 198.
Recall that in February 2021 the Legault government announced financial support of 450 million for Telesat and MDA. Telesat then promised to install the future network’s operations and command centers in Gatineau, not far from its Ottawa headquarters. The creation of 320 jobs had been mentioned.