Canada FactbookDraft
November 2026 Edition
Canada Factbook · National chapter / CAN
Space
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2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.
Last updated: October 29, 2026
Sections in Space
Space
Space agency/agencies:165
Canadian Space Agency (CSA; established 1989) (2025)¶
Space launch site(s):166
Space program overview:167
has a national space strategy and a long history of developing space-related technologies; designs, builds, operates, and tracks communications, remote sensing (RS), multi-mission, and scientific/testing satellites; has an astronaut program; involved in the development and production of advanced communications systems, lunar rovers, planetary probes, robotics, sensors, and space telescopes; participates in international space programs, including the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope; Cooperating State of the ESA since 1979 and participates in a variety of ESA programs, such as the Copernicus Earth observation project; works with numerous foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Argentina, Brazil, individual ESA and EU member states, Japan, India, and particularly the US; has an active commercial space sector (2025)¶
Key space-program milestones:168
1959-1962 - launched first domestically built sounding rocket (Black Brant 1); first domestically designed and built satellite (Alouette) launched by US¶
1972-1973 - first domestic communications satellites (Anik A-1 and Anik A-2) launched by US, making Canada first country to employ satellites for domestic communications¶
1970s - began participating in US Space Shuttle (first Canadian in space on Shuttle in 1984) and US Mars probe/exploration programs¶
1995 - first Canadian-built, radar-capable remote sensing satellite (Radarsat-1) launched by US¶
2019 - began participating in US/NASA Lunar Gateway orbital station program; launched constellation of remote sensing satellites (RADARSAT Constellation Mission)¶
2020 - signed the US-led Artemis Accords for space exploration (active participant in planned Moon missions under the Artemis program)¶
Notes & sources
- Space agency/agencies. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Space launch site(s). Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Space program overview. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Key space-program milestones. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩