Canadarm3 will fly to the upcoming NASA Gateway space station in five years or so on the back of a lucrative new design contract drawn from earlier funding of the program, Canadian space officials pledged.
Canadarm3 is the next-generation successor of the wildly successful robotic series active in space for more than 40 years, including Canadarm for the missions, and Canadarm2 that performs maintenance and spacewalk work on the ISS. MDA Space is the current manager of the Canadarm programs along with Dextre, a robotic maintenance tool also aboard the ISS.
Canadarm2 during a NASA spacewalk on the International Space Station. Here, NASA astronaut Warren"Woody" Hoburg holds onto an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array while riding at the end of Canadarm2. Follow Expedition 69 crewmate Stephen Bowen can be seen preparing the array's mounting bracket just below during the spacewalk on June 15, 2023.
As is typical of large space projects, Gateway has faced delays and the delivery of Canadarm has also been pushed back. Gateway was expected to be operational in 2026, along with the robotic arm, when