Magellan Aerospace Corp (MALJF)

[Belek]

Magellan Aerospace to Build Advanced Satellite Integration Facility


TORONTO, May 20, 2014 /CNW/ - Magellan Aerospace ("Magellan") announced today that, in partnership with the University of Manitoba, an advanced satellite integration facility (ASIF) will be established in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With the support of Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), the facility will be shared and jointly operated by Magellan and the University of Manitoba and will create a unique and innovative hub that will bring together industry and academia in the research, development, and the construction and testing of satellite buses and components.

Magellan Aerospace, Winnipeg will be home to the ASIF and will be large enough to accommodate the simultaneous assembly, integration and testing (AIT) of three satellite buses. Magellan will invest more than Cdn. $2 million in the project that will contribute to the construction of the facility, multi-year program funding, and the establishment of an Industrial Research Chair in the area of satellite development within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. This facility and the new Chair will enhance the training opportunities available to engineering students at the University of Manitoba.

"This partnership between the University of Manitoba and Magellan is the kind of relationship that was identified in the Emerson Report of 2012 as the model industry, research, cooperation that is a vital component of growing Canada's space technology development", said Mr. Don Boitson, Vice President and General Manager of Magellan Aerospace, Winnipeg. "All of the parties involved in this project are pleased for the support provided by the government to launch this industry-based education and training facility. The funding for ASIF demonstrates a commitment to turning investment in knowledge and technology into an advantage for developing Canada's space industry globally."

Construction of the 6,000 square foot facility is the first stage of ASIF development and is scheduled for completion in June 2014. The second stage will see the facility equipped and configured with 3-axis cranes, environmental control equipment, fume hoods, and other specialized equipment for the production and testing of satellite buses and subsystems. Staffing and developing the Research Chair by the spring of 2015 will facilitate the commencement of the program in mid to late 2015. The cost-sharing participants in the establishment of this Manitoba-based satellite integration facility, including the foundation of the Aerospace Research Chair, are Magellan and the University of Manitoba, in partnership with WD.


Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2014/05/20/magellan-aerospace-to-build-advanced-satellite-integration-facility#zKt18zS0Y4fpzAP0.99