World Aviation and Space Day

World Aviation and Space DayHow not to celebrate Cosmonautics Day in Canada? After all, any achievements in space – Russian, American, Canadian or Chinese – are essentially always international, because they incorporate the totality of scientific knowledge of all mankind. It is not surprising, therefore, that progressive Canadians still remember their state of joyous enthusiasm at the news of the successful launch of the first Soviet satellite and, also, still sadden with us about Laika who did not return to Earth. And our Yuri Gagarin, in honor of the pioneer flight of which April 12 was declared World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, is revered by Canadians almost as a national hero.

Celebrating the Day of the first human flight into space in the year of the 70th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin, together with Russian colleagues on the Saratov land, Canadian astronaut Chris Helfield, speaking at a rally at the monument to the first cosmonaut of the planet, in pure Russian said that as a child he never expected to meet on April 12 on the banks of the Volga. In fact, as I did not expect to fly twice into Earth orbit and twice go into outer space. “From a young age, I’ve had Gagarin as a role model, and you have no idea how I feel in his homeland,” Helfield said, smiling.

Although April 12 is not a national holiday in Canada, it is a real holiday in the souls of Canadians. After all, they are so proud of the triumphant achievements of their professionals, whether it is hockey or space exploration. There's something to be proud of. Canada is the third country to launch an artificial satellite into orbit. It was in 1962, and the satellite was called Aleut. Since then, for almost half a century, the authority of Canadian space technology has been consistently high around the world.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield is the only Canadian to have visited the Russian orbiting Mir space station. He flew there in November 1995 on the Atlantis and brought a folding guitar as a gift to the astronauts.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) was established in 1989 to develop a strategy for Canada’s participation in national and international space exploration missions and identify the key technologies necessary to successfully perform scientific tasks. The international authority of this organization is very high, as evidenced by the election of its representative Canadian Carl Deutsch as President of the International Federation of Astronautics for 1995-1996.