MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13,1995,11:45 p.m. Canadarm and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield are engaged in the first major task of mission STS-74. With his feet anchored in the flight compartment on the aft deck of the Atlantis' command station, Chris Hadfield grips the two joysticks that control the moves of the Canadarm. He lifts the 15-metre arm, emblazoned with the red and black CANADA wordmark, out of its cradle. Then, using the remote manipulator which, on Earth, cannot lift its own 410-kilo weight, the Canadian astronaut captures the five-ton Russian docking module and hoists it into position to await the coupling that will permanently attach the module to Mir.

During the 90-minute operation, Canadarm lifted the Russian module, tipped it 90 degrees, then positioned it less than seven centimetres from the docking ring of the Atlantis orbiter docking system (ODS). This was the most difficult part of the mission because both mechanisms had to be aligned with the greatest accuracy before locking, During the whole operation, Chris Hadfield kept an eye on the monitors of the new Canadian Space Vision System (CSVS). The monitors display images of small targets captured by cameras located in Atlantis cargo bay and on Canadarm.

Canadarm, used for the forty-third time on a Space Shuttle mission during STS74, has never failed since it was first deployed on board Columbia on November 13,1981. It has been used for such spectacular repair missions as that on the Hubble Space Telescope (1993) and communication satellites, Intelsat (1992), Syncom (1985) and Solar Max (1984).

The most prestigious offspring of Canadian space technology, Canadarm was born in 1974 when NASA entrusted Canada with the task of designing a remote manipulator arm for the new space shuttle program. Through the National Research Council of Canada, the federal government invested the $ 100 million required for its development. The challenge was tremendous: develop a tool that could reproduce in space the dexterity of the human arm and do so with bionic strength.

Spar Aerospace Limited of Toronto became the prime contractor for the project; CAE Electronic of Montreal built the training simulators as well as the arm's electronic systems; the joints were manufactured by DSMA Atcom in Toronto.

From the Canadarm's 15 years of operation, Spar has built a data base on space remote manipulators that is the only one of its kind in the world. Such expertise was put to good use in Spar's design and development of the next generation of Canadarm, the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which will play a critical role in the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.

Thus, some time in 1998, astronauts on board the space station will be taking the controls of a 17-metre long remote manipulator arm able to detach itself by both its ends and crawl end-over-end, inchworm style, along the station's truss. This first element of the MSS, with its seven joints, will be able to lift objects weighing up to 100,000 kg-as heavy as the shuttle itself!

What about Earth? The technologies developed for the Canadarm and MSS programs have quite down-to-Earth spinoffs. For example, some remote manipulators, cousins of the space manipulators, have been developed for use in radioactive and hazardous environments. These remote handling systems will be used for tank waste characterization and retrieval, buried waste retrieval and stored waste handling.

These are perfect examples of the strategic wisdom shown by Canada in the development of its space policy: maximize the modest sums that our country invests in space by focussing on well-defined technological niches, with, ultimately, terrestrial applications of benefit to all of Canada.