Vancouver Information and Newspaper

MONTREAL – It has travelled thousands of kilometres in space, repaired orbiting satellites, unclogged astronauts’ toilets, and helped build the International Space Station.

Now the Canadarm appears set to come home.

The Canadian Press has learned that NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have been working to bring home the original Canadarm, which first flew into space in 1981.

Discussions aimed at repatriating the iconic robotic limb have been going on between the U.S. and Canadian agencies for more than a year.

The conversations come as the U.S. closes its space-shuttle program, and seeks to divest assets from those missions.

NASA has used five versions of the Canadarm over the years.

“The Canadian Government retained ownership of the original Canadarm and NASA and the Canadian Space Agency are currently discussing its return,” said NASA spokeswoman Katherine Trinidad.

The Canadian Space Agency declined to comment when asked what it planned to do with the 15-metre, 411-kilo tool.

NASA explains that the original arm flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia and has rotated with the other arms to fly on numerous shuttle missions over the years.

The Canadarms are removed after every space flight and refitted on different shuttles, as necessary.

The space arm was deployed for the first time on Nov. 13, 1981, when it was lifted out of Columbia’s cargo bay by American astronaut and pilot Richard Truly.

“The arm is out and it works beautifully,” Truly reported to Mission Control at the time. “Its movements are much more flexible than they appeared during training simulations.”

Paul Cabot, the curator of the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Toronto, said his museum is also very interested in acquiring that piece of aerospace history.

“We’ve contacted NASA, we’ve contacted the CSA, we’re waiting to see what happens,” he said.

He notes that the Canadarm was built in nearby Brampton, Ont.: “We would like to bring it back to its origin and celebrate its history.”

The first Canadarm was designed, developed and built by a division of Spar Aerospace in Brampton, which was later acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.

The Conservative government blocked the 2008 sale of MDA to a U.S. firm, Alliant Techsystems.

On its website, the Canadian Space Agency says five Canadarms were built and delivered to NASA between April 1981 and August 1993.

Two were destroyed in the tragic explosions of the shuttles Columbia and Challenger.



Canadarms are currently being used on the three U.S. shuttles still in service – Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.

But NASA is retiring the shuttles this fall and they have already been put up for sale.

The shuttle Discovery has already been promised to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C.

The two others, Atlantis and Endeavour, are up for grabs, but only American museums or schools are allowed to bid for them.

Trinidad notes that with one arm going back to Canada, one of the shuttles will be left without an arm.

About 20 applications had been received by the Feb. 19 deadline.

NASA recently slashed the price tag on the soon-to-be-retired shuttles from US$42 million to US$28.8 million.

A Canadian government official said he was unaware of NASA’s plans for the shuttles or any of their parts.

One Canadarm remains on the space station.