Abstract Summary: This paper is written about Canadarm. Canadarm represents a very sophisticated piece of aerospace engineering-eight years in the making and costing about $100 million ("Case Study: Canadarm and Canadarm2," n.d.). Fifteen meters in length and weighing 410 kg (making it unable to support itself in Earth gravity), the Canadarm boasts six joints-or what are called six degrees of freedom: two at the shoulder (yaw, pitch); one at the elbow (pitch); and three at the wrist (pitch, yaw, roll).
Abstract This paper explains that Canada's tryst with a space program began during WWII as part of the defense science operations undertaken with the U.S. and U.K.; however, the Canadian space program program was transferred from military to civilian control. The author points out that the launching of the Alouette-1 research satellite put Canada as the third nation following Russia and the US to design and build its own satellite, and Canada became a world leader in space robotics with the Canadarm which is a remote manipulator system. The paper relates that Canadian citizens are being promised that its governments would not sign any agreement to collaborate on Star Wars if there is any indication that it has been designed for purposes other than defense. The paper states that, however, the Canadian government inches closer towards participation because weaponization of the space will be one of the biggest industrial projects in the history of the planet.
Table of Contents
The Canadian Military's Involvement in Space Operations to Date
What Should be Canada's Role in Space Power and Space Operations?
Should Canada Support the Space Defense Initiative and the Weaponization of Space and Why?
From the Paper "Canada is likely to pay a political price, if its tries to ignore NMD. Transcending missile defense in general and NMD in particular, a lot of other concerns are surfacing that re unable to be managed by the archaic Cold War policy parameters. The most crucial among them is the budding issue of space control. Extended periods of Canadian policy of opposition of the weaponization of the outer space has been politically feasible under the deterrence conditions of the Cold War. This opposition did not come at a price, since neither the U.S. nor the erstwhile Soviet Union had the strategic need, the technology potential to weaponize."
Tags: weaponization, civilian, alouette-1, robotics, opposition
