MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has delayed the launch of the Radarsat-2 imaging satellite until March 2007, the company announced June 28. The launch most recently had been set for December.

The delay “aligns completion of the final integration and test with the recently secured launch window on the Soyuz 2,” MacDonald Dettwiler said.

Radarsat-2, which captures data using a synthetic aperture radar that is not affected by weather conditions or time of day, will replace the existing Radarsat-1 satellite. Radarsat-2 had been scheduled for a launch aboard a Boeing Delta 2 as early as 2003, but MacDonald Dettwiler switched to a Soyuz provided by the French-Russian joint venture Starsem in January.