Pride in Space: Canada's Robotic Arm

Canada has always tried to improve technologically to keep up with the world leaders. We know that Canadian technology has been improving for the last decade; an example of this is one of the most successful and, at the same time, unrecognized pieces of high-technology built by Canadians--the Primary Robotic Arm.

The Primary Robotic Arm--or "Canadarm"--is one of the most successful pieces of equipment ever built by Canadians. I say this because we all know that NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) does not want any errors; they want zero defects. This means that the Robotic Arm had to be built to the standard of near perfection, and that is why I call it successful. It is one of the few important technologies that Canada has contributed to NASA. It is so important that it has been used in the U.S. Laboratory Module and it will play an important role in the next space mission, Flight 2R, in July 1999 when 3 crew members will use the Canada Robotic Arm for a specific task.

The Primary Robotic Arm seems to be unrecognized or underrated by the Canadian people. It is said that Canadian people are not very interested in space or anything that has to do with it. I do not know if this statement is true or not because I have not lived in Canada long enough to make my own conclusions. I do know that the Canada Arm has not been recognized in recent years, maybe because Canadians think it is just a normal device used for simple tasks.

Canadians should be proud to have created something that is still in use in outer space. I would also be very proud if Spain had such equipment, built by Spanish people, and up there in outer space. The Canadarm even has the Canadian instead of the American flag on it, an important symbol I think. It could be that, in the past when the Canadian Arm was in use for the first time, Canadians took more interest in the subject and maybe that interest is waning because we do not hear anything about it anymore.

Today, a space launch is just a fifteen second review on the news. In the 1960's, a space launch was the most important news on television, radio and in the newspapers. Today it is a different story. Today we hear about a mission to the moon in the very last part of a news edition.

Why has this interest for space exploration wound down? Are people less interested in space these days? Because it has been done before? But we all know how risky it is to launch a human being into space and the amount of money spent on these missions and equipment. Many people say that this money should be used for more important things, but we have to consider that we have to move on, we need to progress and search for a better life in the future. We all know that planet Earth is not going to be around forever, so we need to improve on our technology to search for other places to survive. I know this will happen in many hundreds of years from now and that we should not worry because we will not be around when this happens, but we have to consider the people of the future.

This reaction to ongoing news of the Canadian Arm is a good example of how technology impacts on people at different times in history. For example, a new technological advance in the 1950's and 1960's was important news. Everyone felt affected by the change because advancements at that time were not as common as they are today. Today, a new technological advance makes only a small impact on people because we are accustomed to these advancements. It is not such a big deal.

Does this mean that we are influenced by technology? That it is part of our everyday lives? Some people may disagree, but I think our technology is becoming so advanced, not only in North America, but everywhere, that we, somehow, have to be influenced by it in some way. And part of that influence is the pride we can take in the technological accomplishments of our national cultures.