Canada's fifty years in space

by Gordon G. Shepherd

Have you ever wondered what Canadians have done in space science? In this book you will find out how hundreds of Canada's best and brightest have contributed to your everyday life in ways most people can't imagine. Thanks to fifty years of effort by these scientists and engineers your life has been improving and is constantly being made safer. International space science began suddenly with the creation of COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) in October, 1958, and its first plenary meeting was held in London, in November the same year. Canada was at the table for both the creation and the first plenary meeting. Canada's Fifty Years in Space describes the parallel growth of the Canadian space science program from that date up to the 50th Anniversary of COSPAR, to be celebrated in Montreal in July, 2008. This work relates the history of ground-based activity that placed Canada at the forefront of nations with knowledge of space in 1958, gained primarily through observations of the aurora