The Canadian Space Program One Amateur’s Adventures in The Canadian Space Program 

Rockets

The Velvet Glove Missile

27 ft. long, 17 inches diameter Weight 2000 lb. Thrust: 20,000 lb. The Black Brant Upper Atmosphere Rocket

a Black Brant

The first Bristol Black Brant II was launched from Churchill Manitoba in October 1960

A daylight launch at Churchill 1960’s

Black Brant III Smaller Less expensive 18 feet long, 10 inches diameter First Launched: June 1962 at Wallops Island Virginia

solid state telemetry transmitter for Black Brant III

Amplifier - Quadrupler

Wallops Island Virginia, June 1962

Aerial view of the NASA range at Wallops Island on the Atlantic Coast of Virginia USA

Mounting a Black Brant III on one of the Wallops rail launchers

Bristol Engineer Ralph Bullock Checking out a BBIII payload

NRC Engineer Ken Pulfer waiting for launch

Four Black Brant III test firings were launched at Wallops in June 1962

More BB IIIs Summer 1963 California

Goldstone receiving station Mojave desert California

Guns

McGill University Professor Dr Gerry Bull and his 16 inch smooth bore gun

Barbados test firing of the 16 inch gun. Length 120 feet, Acceleration 5,000 to 20,000 g Gerry Bull was assassinated in 1990 after selling super guns to Saddam Hussein

Satellites

Designed and built at CRC, for about $50 million, CTS was launched 17 Jan 1976.

Also at CRC, in 1976, Canada demonstrated the first satellite Search and Rescue System, using Amateur satellite Oscar VI

Started in 1980 and launched in 1995, Radarsat-1 shows ice floes off Ellesmere Island

Manned Space Program

The Canadarm In 1969, Canada received an invitation from NASA to join the U.S. Space Shuttle Program. In July 1975, an agreement was signed committing Canada to provide NASA with a robotic arm called the "Remote Manipulator System," (RMS) for the shuttle’s cargo bay.

The National Research Council developed the Manipulator System, Dr. Garry Lindberg was the first project manager. Work began on the program in SPAR Aerospace was selected as prime contractor. April 1981 Canada built the first arm, paying for its design, construction and testing and in April 1981 it was delivered to NASA. NASA bought three more arms at $75 million each.

Jim Abrahamson In 1981 he was deputy head of the Shuttle program Later he headed up Reagan’s “Star Wars” anti ballistic missile program

First Canadarm Flight In the fall of 1981, the second manned flight of the Space Shuttle carried a Canadarm The Shuttle was piloted by US astronaut Joe Engle, and the ARM was operated by US astronaut Dick Truly I went to Florida for the launch and then to Mission Control in Houston for the week of the flight

Shuttle STS-2 on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy December 1981

Mission Control, Houston Texas

Saturn V at Johnson Space Centre, Houston Texas

My son Jim at age 17 at Mission Control Houston, admiring the business end of a Saturn V Moon Rocket December 1981

The Canadarm in space aboard the Shuttle

Back in Ottawa after the Shuttle flight

Cross Canada Tour - Winter of 1981 / 1982

The Canadian Astronaut Program In September 1982 Canada was invited by NASA to put a Canadian astronaut aboard the Space Shuttle At NRC we started a minimum program with 6 astronauts In 1984 Marc Garneau, was the selected to be the first Canadian in space

Pre-dawn launch of Marc’s flight October 5th 1984

Marc and Bob on the tour - in Victoria?

A few days later in Whitehorse

Aboard the paddle wheel steamer on the Yukon river

To: Dr Ken Pulfer, with the appreciation of the Canadian Astronaut Program, the Director and personnel, for your support, and particularly for your participation in the Trans-Canada tour following the flight of Canada’s first astronaut Marc Garneau, on STS 41G, October 5 th to 13 th 1984

In 1986, at NRC, we began development of the Canadarm 2 for the International Space Station Three years later in 1989, the Canadian Space Agency was formed In the fall of 1989, I retired from NRC

Amateur Radio on the Space Station

In 1996, amateurs from the US, Russia, Japan, the UK and Canada met in Houston Texas to plan Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Carolynn Conley NASA KA3HDO W6DUE K1STO ON4WF

Sergei Samburov RV3DR at ARISS meeting at CSA Montreal in 2002

Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ

Canadian ARISS volunteers Robin HaightonVE3FRH AMSAT Steve McFarlaneVE3TBD mentor George Roach VE3BNO QSLs Norm Coull VE4EH QSLs Wayne HarisimovitchVE1WPH mentor Daniel LamoureuxVE2KA RAC Stefan WagenerVE4NSA AMSAT Maurice Andre Vigneault VE3VIG AMSAT

Canadian school contacts Feb The first Canadian amateur radio school contact with the Space Station was at Merivale Public school Ottawa. Steve McFarlane VE3TBD and teacher wife Lori were the organizers. George Roach and Clare Fowler provided technical support. So far there have been 44 Canadian amateur radio school contacts with astronauts on the Space Station. (nearly 600 worldwide)

In Jan 2007 – a school contact was arranged with the support of The Museum of Science and Technology, OVMRC, and Maurice Andre Vigneault VE3VIG My youngest granddaughter (then 10 years old) was at Le Prelude school in Orleans. She spoke to US astronaut Sunita Williams KD5PLB