A perspective on the Canadian satellite program

During a period of 17 years Canada's space program has evolved from the Alouette I scientific satellite to the more complex observatory-type ISIS scientific satellites and subsequently to the ANIK commercial system and the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS). Many new and diverse engineering problems have been solved both in the space and ground segments of these systems. This paper provides a history of the program and an assessment of the current level of Canadian capability in satellite-related engineering.