Alouette 1 Satellite Programme National Historic Event of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Posted by: 
colincan
N 45° 20.697 W 075° 52.975
18T E 430831 N 5021650
The Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 and America's moon mission prompted Canada to launch satellites to study the Ionosphere and improve radio communications. This was especially useful for our vast northern territories. Alouette 1 was the first.
Waymark Code: WMA153
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/29/2010
Views: 52
President Kennedy delivered a pledge to the American people in 1962 committing the United States and NASA to a moon landing before the decade was out. Canada, somewhat in lock step, entered the space age for real that same year with the launch of Alouette 1, a communications satellite only a metre in diameter. Canada’s Alouette/ISIS Programme was comprised of 4 orbiting satellites and all the ground based recording equipment.
The Programme ensured Canada could operate a satellite launch, only the third country in the world to do so, necessitated by our expansive geography one might argue. The Alouette/ISIS satellite antenna currently on display at Shirley’s Bay (home of Canada’s space research), was one essential component of the earth based hardware. Not only did the antenna monitor the Programme, but also the Soviet Sputnik satellites. These were the world’s first orbiting satellites, commencing with the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. There are few surviving pieces of space communications hardware in Canada which predate the Aloutte/ISIS antenna.
- The Programme was designated of national significance in 2007 and was
plaqued in May 2010 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada at the entrance to the Government of Canada's Communications Research Centre on Carling Avenue.
Dedication link. (
visit link)
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