MDA Acquires Neptec Design Group to Enhance Space Exploration

MDA, a Maxar Technologies company, has announced the acquisition of Neptec Design Group Ltd, a leading Lidar company, for CA$42 million. With Neptec, MDA will deliver end-to-end robotic systems and an expanded set of solutions, positioning the company to capture growth in the American, Canadian and global space exploration markets, and accelerate advancement into new and expanding space segments.

Neptec's approximately 100 employees in Ottawa, Canada, and Harwell, U.K., will join MDA's workforce of 1,900 across Canada. The new Sensor business will combine with the newly created MDA Commercial division under the MDA brand.

“The announcement provides a tremendous opportunity to advance and grow MDA and Neptec internationally, develop powerful new technologies and drive future economies," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "The Neptec team is well-established in the industry, and this investment represents an important strategic opportunity to offer broader solutions for the growing space exploration market.”

MDA's suite of space robotics and exploration capabilities combined with Neptec's space sensors and exploration robotics will provide commercial and government customers worldwide with innovative, three-dimensional space systems that augment the functionality of robotic systems, including such tasks as capturing space vehicles and berthing them to structures. Neptec also operates Lidar systems, which deliver reliable guidance and navigation sensors for space vehicles.

“In our nearly 30-year history, Neptec has contributed critical systems to some of the most demanding space exploration missions, and we've built a reputation for making things work in challenging environments,” said Paul Nephin, Neptec CEO.

Neptec's capabilities are aligned with growth areas fuelling the new space economy including on-orbit servicing, space mining, space manufacturing and the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (Gateway), a planned lunar-orbit space station planned for the 2020's. The next-generation will provide critical Gateway operations, including assembly of the Gateway itself and its ongoing maintenance, capture of visiting spacecraft and execution of scientific experiments and operations conducted in the lunar vicinity. Robotics needed for this project will incorporate significantly more autonomous decision-making capabilities using AI and state-of-the-art robotics and software.

Fast, secure communications will also be critical for deep space missions. Neptec has been working to further quantum computing in the area of space communications, and has participated in a project that developed an Acquisition, Pointing and Tracking fine pointing system for future satellite payloads to solve the long-standing problem of securely transporting information between distant locations.