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

One Amateur’s Adventures in

The The Canadian Canadian

Space Space Program Program

Rockets1960 - 1965

The Velvet Glove Missile1951 - 1956

27 ft. long, 17 inches diameterWeight 2000 lb.

Thrust: 20,000 lb.

The Black Brant Upper Atmosphere Rocket

a Black Brant

The first Bristol Black Brant II was

launched from ChurchillManitoba

in October 1960

A daylight launch

at Churchill

1960’s

Black Brant IIISmallerLess expensive

18 feet long, 10 inches diameter

First Launched: June 1962 at Wallops Island Virginia

1960 - 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 BullockChecking 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 IIIsSummer 1963 California

Goldstone receiving station Mojave desert California

Guns1963 - 1967

McGill University Professor

Dr Gerry Bull

and his16 inchsmooth

boregun

Barbadostest firing

of the16 inch gun.

Length 120 feet,

Acceleration5,000 to20,000 g

Gerry Bull was assassinated in 1990 after selling super guns to Saddam Hussein

Satellites 1970 - 1985

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

Also at CRC, in 1976, Canada demonstratedthe 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 Program1975-1989

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 1975. SPAR Aerospace was selected as prime contractor.

•Canada built the first arm, paying for its design, construction and testing and in April 1981 April 1981 it was delivered to NASA.

•NASA bought three more arms at $75 million each.

Jim Abrahamson

In 1981 he wasdeputy head of

the Shuttle program

Later he headed upReagan’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 Canadarmin 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 flightOctober 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 5th to 13th 1984

In 1986, at NRC, we began development of the Canadarm 2 for the International Space Station

Three years later

in 1989,the CanadianSpace Agency

was formed

In the fall of1989, I retired

from NRC

Amateur Radio on the Space Station

1996 - 2010

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 Haighton VE3FRH AMSAT• Steve McFarlane VE3TBD mentor• George Roach VE3BNO QSLs• Norm Coull VE4EH QSLs• Wayne Harisimovitch VE1WPH mentor• Daniel Lamoureux VE2KA RAC• Stefan Wagener VE4NSA AMSAT• Maurice Andre Vigneault VE3VIG AMSAT

Canadian school contacts• Feb 2001- 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