MDA Ltd., a technology and services provider to the global space industry based on Brampton, Ontario, announced Wednesday at the Earth Insight customer conference that it has selected SpaceX to launch CHORUS. The radar is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket in the fourth quarter of 2025 from Florida.
In 2013, MDA became the first commercial customer to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Designed and manufactured by SpaceX, Falcon 9 is the world’s first and only reusable orbital-class rocket. Now MDA will again use the services of a trusted company.
The CHORUS collaborative multi-sensor constellation will bring together diverse and unique image and data sources, the company said. It will provide a new level of near real-time understanding and innovative Earth observation services. Operating in a mid-inclination orbit, CHORUS will be able to acquire images day and night, regardless of weather conditions, with daily access to up to 95% of the coverage area. CHORUS will provide the most extensive Earth observation radar imaging capabilities available on the market in a single mission.
“The production of CHORUS is well underway and we are looking forward to once again working with SpaceX to launch our next generation Earth observation capability,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA. “The Earth is big, dynamic and evolving daily, and our ability to see, measure and analyze what is happening in near real-time – and over time – is imperative to meeting the needs of our global customer base. The insight that CHORUS will provide to governments, companies and organizations around the world will drive decisions and action, and will help to solve some of the biggest problems facing our planet.”
CHORUS will support higher frequency imaging between the mid-latitude regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. CHORUS will offer cutting-edge, innovative Earth observation services, including:
- Protection of national security and sovereignty by providing critical time-sensitive data and intelligence on maritime and land activities;
- Detection of illegal activities such as overfishing, deforestation or bilge water dumping;
- Monitoring of critical infrastructure, transportation corridors, coastal erosion, land subsidence and the effects of climate change;
- Provision of timely information to support humanitarian aid and disaster response in the aftermath of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes and marine oil spills; and
- Routine systematic observations for a variety of natural resources, industrial and geographic applications including agriculture, forestry, mining and exploration activities.
