MDA

Mda Space Ltd.

A Canadian space technology company that builds the robotic arms used on the International Space Station, including the famous Canadarm2 and the two-armed Dextre, plus satellites and Earth-observation gear. It began in 1969 when engineering professor John MacDonald and physics graduate Vern Dettwiler set up shop in a Vancouver basement to keep local scientists from moving away for work. The company, renamed MDA Space in 2024, still traces its name to those two founders' surnames.