The remote manipulator system or RMS was built for NASA in 1981 by Spar Robotics, a Canadian company based in Ontario. The Canadian origins of the RMS have given it the name "Canadarm."

In 1998, the RMS played an important part in helping to build the new International Space Station or ISS.

In May of 1998 Spar Robotics was bought by MacDonald Dettwiler and it became MD Robotics. MD Robotics built a second robotic arm for the International Space Station.

It is called the Space Station Remote Manipulator System or SSRMS and goes by the nickname "Canadarm2."

In April 2001, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was a crew member in the Shuttle trip that brought Canadarm2 to its new home in space.

The original Canadarm was used to attach Canadarm2 onto the ISS. When the job was finished, the two Canadarms made history when they shook "hands" with each other and performed the first robotic handshake in space.

The two arms are key to the assembly and repair of the International Space Station.