Canada Celebrates 50 Years in Space

Canada celebrates 50 years in space on Saturday, marking five decades since the launch of the Alouette-1 satellite on Sept. 29, 1962.

The Canadian space program marks its beginning in 1962 with the launch of the Alouette-1 research satellite. With this mission, Canada became the third country in space and the third country to design and build its own satellite, after Russia and the United States. Alouette-1, designed to study the ionosphere for a year, continued to transmit data for 10 years. Communications Research Centre Canada

Canadians will celebrate a major milestone in space this Saturday as they mark 50 years since the launch of Alouette-1 on Sept. 29, 1962, one of the most successful scientific satellites ever deployed.

With this historic mission, Canada entered into the space age and became the third nation, after Russia and the U.S., to have entirely designed, built, and operated a device in space. It also launched a new era of international scientific cooperation.