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Canadian Space Agency

image by Ivan Sache, 16 January 2010

Description of the flag
Flag bearing heraldic badge

See also:

Canada: Historic, Cultural, Economic, Government

Description of the flag

Last year one of the flags unfurled on top of Everest was that of the Canadian Space Agency (in French, Agence Spatiale Canadienne): direct link to photo: http://www.cdneverest2008.com/News/Images/05-22-2008del2-Image18.jpg

For the context and additional vex photos, see this page: http://www.cdneverest2008.com/News/05222008del2.aspx and for a big logo, here: http://www.thetechherald.com/media/images/200819/Canadian_Space_Agency_logo_1.jpg.

The flag is simply a white field with the logo: a blue disk bearing at the bottom the agency’s acronyms “CSA ASC” in italic characters (no serifs); slightly above those, the red Maple Leaf fimbriated white; overarching all is a rendition, all in white, of the earth’s rim from behind which appears the sun – represented by four large and two small rays - plus a parabolic trajectory starting at left and ending in a four-pointed star at right and, finally, a lone star (Polaris?) at upper left.

The flag in use (if there is a fringe, it remains hidden) in good company: the national flag (fringed yellow) and Marc Garneau, CSA President in 2002: http://www.pagse.org/en/annual_events/e20021105/garneau.htm. An almost complete view of the flag on this Flickr photo (made by “HMPResearchStation” on 17 Jul 2008): http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmpresearchstation/2678160721/in/set-72157606231699511

Agency website, English version: http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/default.asp where we learn that the “new logo” (how did the old one look like?) was unveiled on 4 Nov 1996.

Presenting CSA (quote from ‘Resources / About us’ section, left menu):
“The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) was established in 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act. The agency operates like a government department. The president is the equivalent of a deputy minister and reports to the Minister of Industry. The president oversees five core functions: Space Programs, Space Technologies, Space Science, Canadian Astronaut Office, Space Operations.”

and:

“The mandate of the Canadian Space Agency is: To promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians.”

An quick overview of things Canadian in space is best found, I believe, by looking up ‘Space Missions’, ‘Earth Observation’, and ‘Satellites’ (left menu, under Activities). And then there is the International Space Station, of course. Countless tv viewers must know the Canadarm!
Astronautix website, Canadian contents link page: http://www.astronautix.com/country/canada.htm
Jan Mertens, 14 May 2009

The Canadian Space Agency / Agence Spatiale Canadienne (CSA / ASC), created on 1 March 1989, was officially established by the Canadian Space Agency Act, passed in December 1990. The Agency has a status equivalent to that of a department of the Government of Canada and reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry. Most of its 635 employees work at the John H. Chapman Space Center, located in Longueuil, Québec. The four key programs ran by the agency are:
- Earth observation
- Space science and exploration
- Satellite communication
- Space awareness and learning.

The father of the Canadian space program is John H. Chapman (1921-1979), the founder of the Alouette/ISIS scientific Earth satellite program. On 29 September 1962, the successful launching of "Alouette I" made of Canada the third country after USSR and the USA to have a satellite in space. "Alouette 2", the first of the ISIS (International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies), was launched on 29 November 1965. In February 1967, Chapman submitted a report to the federal government into which he recommended the creation of a national space agency. Launched on 9 November 1972, "Anik A1" was the first domestic communications satellite on a geostationary orbit. Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space during the STS-41G mission ("Challenger" shuttle, 6-13 April 1984). Since then, Canadian astronauts have been members of another 14 missions.
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca - ASC / CSA website.

During the STS-127 mission ("Endeavour" shuttle, 15-31 July 2009), the astronaut Julie Payette brought a photo of the employees of CSA / ASC, taken in Longueuil in 2008. The employees hold a big flag of the agency, which can also be seen in the background, hoisted on a pole in front of the agency's building. The flag of CSA / ASC is in proportions 1:2, white with the agency's logo in the middle. Adopted on 4 November 1997, the logo is a blue disk charged with a red maple leaf outlined in white, white rays, a white four-pointed star on top and the acronym of the agency written in white italic capital letters.
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/fra/missions/sts-127/trousse.asp#ofk7
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/images/ofk1large.jpg - Enlarged photo

CSA / ASC has also a coat of arms, which as granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on 25 July 1991.
http://canadian-heraldry.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html - Royal Heraldry Society of Canada blog
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__v6soElJjpE/SWz9QNh03JI/AAAAAAAAACM/zG4s8Q9DD0U/s1600-h/CanSpaceAgency.jpg - Coat of arms

Ivan Sache, 16 January 2010

Flag bearing heraldic badge

A different flag of the Canadian Space Agency is the badge of arms on a white field. The flag is visible in this picture of astronaut (now member of parliament) Marc Garneau: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Marc_Garneau_STS-97.jpg. The arms can be found at http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1523.
Dave Fowler, 14 December 2014