OTD in space – September 28: Canada launches its first satellite

On September 28, 1962, Canada launched its first satellite, Alouette 1. This made Canada the third country to build and launch its own satellite after the United States and the Soviet Union. Alouette 1 was designed to study the ionosphere of the Earth, which is a region in the upper atmosphere that is ionized by solar and cosmic radiation. The mission lasted 10 years before the satellite was dismantled, but the abandoned satellite is still orbiting the earth.