by John Palimaka Telesat Canada published in IEEE Canadian
Review - Fall 1992 Canada entered into the Space Age thirty
years ago with the launch of the Alouette I satellite. Early
success in the field of space science led to strong Canadian
programs in satellite communications and remote sensing, through
the cooperative effort of government and industry. |A view of
the Alouette satellite showing the four telemetry antennas and
two of the four STEM (Storable Tubular Extendible Member)
sounding antennas which were deployed on orbit. The satellite is
about one metre in diameter.| A MILESTONE OF ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING Exactly thirty years ago, on September 29, 1962 the
Canadian-built Alouette I satellite was launched into orbit
aboard a Thor-Agena launch vehicle from the U.S. Pacific Missile
Test Range in California. It was the first satellite launched
into space which was built entirely by a country other that the
U.S. or the U.S.S.R. The Alouette/ISIS Program consisted of four
satellites and associated ground-b