Canadarm Recognized as IEEE Milestone

We were honoured to welcome IEEE to MDA Space headquarters for a special ceremony recognizing the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS)—also known as Canadarm—as an IEEE Milestone.  

Since its inception in 1983, the IEEE Milestone program has recognized historic technical achievements across a range of disciplines—engineering, computer science and information technology, physical sciences, and many more—that have had a lasting impact on society. Each milestone is vetted through a rigorous review process that culminates in the dedication of an historical commemorative plaque and a celebration at a designated site. 

2026 IEEE President‑Elect Jill Gostin opened the ceremony by reminding the audience that the IEEE Milestones program is both a celebration of the past and a look toward the future. In honouring technology that has shaped public life, the program preserves history, recognizes its impact on modern society and guides tomorrow’s innovators.  

“Today’s dedication not only honours a breakthrough system, but also the people behind it,” said Gostin. “The engineers, the builders, the programmers, and the visionaries who believed technology could expand human possibility and who dared to push the boundaries of what humanity could achieve beyond Earth.”  

The robotic arm that revolutionized spaceflight 

Built by SPAR Aerospace (now MDA Space), Canadarm was first deployed on the Space Shuttle in 1981. As the world’s first spaceborne robotics system, Canadarm became a mission critical, multipurpose solution and essential contingency asset, playing a pivotal role in 90 of the 135 Space Shuttle missions. 

The arm was used to deploy, retrieve, and repair numerous payloads. It also assisted astronauts during spacewalks, playing a pivotal role in missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope servicing, and the construction of the International Space Station.  

Over three decades and 388 million miles later, the arm proved to be an essential partner for astronauts and an indispensable solution for both the expected and unexpected demands of human spaceflight.

Having worked with Canadarm technology for over 40 years, Mike Hiltz, Senior Manager of Mission Operations at MDA Space, has had a front-row seat to the arm’s role—as well as its successor’s, Canadarm2—in shaping space exploration.

“From our mission-critical role supporting more than 20 astronomy and Earth science payloads—including the Hubble Space Telescope—that expanded humanity’s understanding of the universe, to laying the cornerstone of the International Space Station by joining the Russian Zarya module to the American Unity node in 1998, and then going on to help assemble the entire station, MDA Space and Canadarm have been instrumental in countless historic moments in spaceflight, a proud legacy of technical ingenuity that continues to this day,” said Hiltz.

Pioneering the past, present, and future of space exploration

During the ceremony, David Michelson—the milestone proposer, the past Chair of the IEEE  History Committee, and current Chair of the IEEE Communications History Committee—stressed that the Milestone program reminds the public and policymakers alike of the contributions of the engineering profession, recognizes the communities that contributed to important technical innovations, and encourages the historical scholarship that ensures the historical narrative concerning such technical innovations is complete, correct, objective. David Bart, Vice‑Chair of the IEEE History Committee and Chair of the Milestone Program Subcommittee, added that this dedication was especially momentous as IEEE’s 300th milestone, as well as a full-circle moment for Canada, since the very first Canadian IEEE milestone celebrated another major space achievement—the Alouette–ISIS satellite program.

Joined by current MDA Space employees who worked on Canadarm over the years, Holly Johnson, VP of Robotics and Space Operations and David Michelson unveiled the commemorative bronze plaque bearing the official IEEE citation.

“The people here today not only helped design, build and deliver Canadarm and Canadarm2, but continue to shape the next generation of space robotics in Canadarm3 and MDA SKYMAKER™,” said Holly Johnson, VP of Robotics and Space Operations at MDA Space. “This milestone is a reminder of the privilege we all have at MDA Space—as engineers, designers, builders, operators—to build technology that shapes history. That same pioneering spirit that drove our team in those early days of space exploration now propels us into a new era, as we work to build the infrastructure for the Moon and beyond”