Orbital Sciences Corp.’s [ORB] majority-owned Canadian subsidiary, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), has won a $50 million contract for the next-generation robotic arm on the International Space Station. The contract was awarded by the Canadian Space Agency.

MDA is the supplier of “Canadarm,” the large, mechanical arm carried aboard Shuttle orbiters and used by astronauts to lift payloads out of and into the cargo bay. A second-generation arm and its controls, or Mobile Servicing System, is Canada’s main contribution to the space station.

Last month, NASA awarded MDA a $15 million contract for engineering services to develop the work station from which the space station’s robotic arm will be controlled.

The more recent CSA contract runs for three years and covers MDA’s ground processing, launch and on-orbit operations support for the Mobile Servicing System. Once it is assembled, the Mobile Servicing System is expected to be part of the space station for the next 15 to 20 years.