EMS Technologies Inc. received a contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to design and manufacture components for NASA’s next-generation space telescope, EMS and the CSA announced Sept. 26.

Under the Cdn. $26.2 million ($22.4 million) contract, the company’s Space & Technology/Montreal Division will design a fine guidance sensor and a tunable filter for the James Webb Space Telescope. The fine guidance sensor tracks the position of stars to allow for precision pointing of the telescope. The tunable filter camera will explore objects at specific wavelengths. The equipment will be manufactured in the Space & Technology Division’s Ottawa facility.

The telescope, scheduled to be launched in 2013, will observe the formation of some of the first stars and galaxies in the universe.