Rock West Composites Completes Development Model Design for Canadarm3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rock West Composites Completes Development Model Design for Canadarm3

Rock West Composites announces that it has completed the design for the development model for Canadarm3 this month as part of its contract with MDA, a Canadian space company. Over the course of the contract, two primary booms and one qualification boom will be built and tested to support the Canadarm3 robotic arm, which will be supplied by the Canadian Space Agency as part of the lunar Gateway Program.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 1, 2023 – This month Rock West Composites (RWC) has completed the design of the development model for Canadarm3. RWC is collaborating with MDA, a leader in advanced technology solutions for the space industry. The team will design, analyze, manufacture, and test the two primary boom structures and supporting spare units for Canadarm3, Canada’s next-generation robotic arm for the lunar Gateway Program.

According to the Canadian Space Agency, “Canadarm3 will be Canada’s contribution to the US-led Gateway, a lunar outpost that will enable sustainable human exploration of the Moon. This highly autonomous robotic system will use cutting-edge software to perform tasks around the Moon without human intervention.” MDA is tasked with establishing the technical requirements for the program, and RWC is developing the boom structures with MDA.

As a critical component of the Canadarm3 system, the boom structure will be responsible for supporting the robotic arm’s operations and ensuring its stability and reliability over its 20+ year service life. The structure must meet challenging structural and weight requirements, as well as tight dimensional tolerances, operate within wide temperature ranges, and withstand radiation.

“Our collaboration with MDA builds upon our proven track record of delivering innovative solutions for the space industry,” said Jeremy Senne, the head of RWC’s Space market segment. “We are excited to contribute our expertise to this project, work alongside MDA to advance Canada’s space robotics capabilities, and support future deep space presence and exploration by mankind.”

Canadarm is an Official Mark of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada as represented by the Ministry of Industry.

An artist's concept of Canadarm3, Canada's smart robotic system, located on the exterior of the Gateway, a small space station in orbit around the Moon. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)
An artist’s concept of Canadarm3, Canada’s smart robotic system, located on the exterior of the Gateway, a small space station in orbit around the Moon. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)

For more information on Rock West Composites’ capabilities, visit www.rockwestcomposites.com.

For more information on MDA’s Canadarm3 program, visit https://mda.space/en/canadarm3/.

About Rock West Composites

Rock West Composites provides composite products for a variety of markets and customers. Specializing in carbon fiber composites, RWC offers custom products and solutions, such as product development, engineering services, prototyping, and manufacturing, as well as off-the-shelf products, including tubes, plates, complementary materials, and their space-ready STRATO line. Manufacturing processes include filament winding, roll wrap, resin infusion, bladder molding, modified closed mold, compression molding, autoclave cure, and precision assembly. Rock West Composites has facilities in San Diego, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Baja California, Mexico.  www.rockwestcomposites.com

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For more information: 
Julia Willis, Director of Marketing Communications
Phone: 858-537-6260
Email: marketing@1rockwest.com
Website: www.rockwestcomposites.com