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MDA Announces RADARSAT-2 Launch Date

January, Richmond, B.C. – MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
(TSX: MDA), a provider of essential information solutions, announced
that the RADARSAT-2 satellite launch date is now set for December 2006.

RADARSAT-2, Canada‘s next-generation commercial SAR satellite,
will be launched in December 2006 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur
space centre in Kazakhstan.
RADARSAT-2 has
been designed with significant and powerful technical advancements
which include very high-resolution imaging, flexibility in selection of
polarization, left and right-looking imaging options, superior data
storage and more precise measurements of spacecraft position and
attitude.
Users will also benefit from the
unparalleled versatility in operations which allow for a highly
responsive data ordering system. For example, in the case of an
emergency, the time from order placement to command uplink to the
satellite can be as little as 4 hours. Routine programming of
acquisitions will be in the timeframe of 3 days to 12 hours. The
internationally recognised near-real time processing and delivery
services provided today for RADARSAT-1 data will continue into the
RADARSAT-2 era.
RADARSAT-2 is designed with variable polarization modes: single, dual
and quad. RADARSAT-2 is the first commercial space-borne SAR satellite
to offer fully operational quad-pol capabilities. Quad-pol imaging
produces an HH, HV, VV and VH dataset per image. The information
provided in a quad-pol dataset improves both the ability to
characterise physical properties of objects and the retrieval of bio-
or geophysical properties of the Earth‘s surface.
About MDA
MDA provides advanced information solutions
that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential
information, and improve the decision making and operational
performance of business and government organizations worldwide.
Focused on markets and customers with
strong repeat business potential, MDA delivers a broad spectrum of
earth and space based information solutions, ranging from complex
operational systems, to tailored information services, to electronic
information products.
MDA employs more than
2,500 people in locations across the United States, the United Kingdom,
and Canada. The Company‘s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol TSX:MDA.
Related visits:
www.mdacorporation.com
For more information, please contact:
Wendy Keyzer
External Relations
MDA
Telephone: 604-231-2743
E-mail: wendy@mdacorporation.com
(Credits MDA Corporation)