A History of the Canadian Space Program: Policies that Guided the Program through Its First Thirty Years and Lessons Learned Coping with Modest Budgets

Paper number

IAC-14,E4,3,3,x27314

Author

Mr. Graham Gibbs, Canadian Space Agency (RETD), Canada

Year

2014

Abstract

The Canadian Space Program began at the dawn of the space age during the International Geophysical Year in 1957-1958. With the launch of the scientific Alouette 1 satellite in 1962 Canada became the third nation in space. Since then Canada has achieved many “firsts in space” and has established itself as a world recognized space faring nation. Thirty years after entering the space era in 1988, Canada formally became a partner in the then G-7 Space Station program with the signing of the Agreements governing the program, which in 1998 became the International Space Station when Russia became a partner. Canada is a leader in radar-based Earth Observation, Upper Atmosphere research, advanced satellite communications technologies, space robotics and much more.

Canada’s space program, despite its modest beginnings and continuing modest funding, has achieved unprecedented success. This success is largely due to reasoned government space policies during the most formative years of Canada’s space program.

This paper is, for the most part, an update of a paper authored by W.M. (Mac) Evans and published in the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) Journal (CASJ) .  The current paper also provides an analysis of the lessons we have learned from these thoughtful earlier government space policies of how a small space faring nation, from a funding perspective, can hold its own and cooperate with major space faring nations such as the United States/NASA and Europe/European Space Agency.

Abstract document

IAC-14,E4,3,3,x27314.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-14,E4,3,3,x27314.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.