Three years before the first Canadian travelled into space, a special piece of hardware marked with the Canadian flag was carried into orbit for the very first time.

On Nov. 13, 1981, American astronauts onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia tested the original Canadarm, in the Canadian-built crane’s maiden voyage into space. The robotic arm quickly became a crucial tool for the Shuttle missions, and was integral in the construction of the International Space Station.

The Canadarm was built much like a human arm, with a “shoulder” joint, an “elbow” joint and three “wrist” joints, designed to extend out to a maximum distance of 15 metres. The 410-kilogram arm was designed and built in Toronto, and installed on each Space Shuttle before a mission, starting with mission STS-2, in 1981.

But the Canadarm almost missed its first opportunity to flex its muscles back in 1981. It was only the second mission for NASA’s fledgling Space Shuttle program, and when one of three fuel cells on the spacecraft malfunctioned, NASA trimmed the original five-day mission to last only two days. That meant cutting most of the tests they’d planned to perform, including a test of the Canadarm.

But astronauts Dick Truly and Joe Engle decided to go ahead with the Canadarm tests anyway. Speaking to NASA in 2006, on the Canadarm’s 25th anniversary, Engle said he and Truly were unwilling to let the test plans go. Instead, they told Mission Control they were going to bed, then began using the arm.

“We were young, and we thought we’d just go ahead and get as much data as we could – stay up during the night to do it,” Engle said.

In archived video of the test shot from Columbia’s cameras, the spacecraft can be seen with its cargo bay open and tilted toward the Earth, with the Canadarm folded inside. The video shows Truly and Engle slowly lifting the Canadarm out of the cargo bay and reaching out toward the Earth.

The two astronauts were back in contact with Mission Control at the time of the test, so NASA was able to monitor the arm’s movements, as they put it through a range of different motions.

“The arm is out for the first time. She’s been deployed, working great,” Truly can be heard saying in the video.

Truly and Engle later remarked that the arm was much more nimble than they had thought it would be, based on training exercises conducted prior to the mission.

The Canadarm became a fixture on all future Shuttle missions, and proved to be more useful than even NASA had predicted. It was used to troubleshoot several unexpected situations over the years, such as scraping ice off the bottom of a Shuttle, and rescuing damaged satellites from orbit. In 1985, a fly swatter was attached to the end of the arm, and used to flick a switch on a damaged communcations satellite.

New versions of the arm were built as its design was refined, with a total of five arms made over the life of the program. One of those arms was destroyed in the Challenger disaster.

The Canadarm came to be seen as a symbol of Canada’s participation in the Space Shuttle program, and of its contributions to building the ISS.

The Canadarm was eventually retired along with the Shuttle program, in July of 2011, after 90 missions. However, the robotic crane’s successor, the Canadarm 2, remains in operation onboard the ISS. The larger Canadarm 2 is 17 metres long, weights 1,641 kilograms, and possesses “touch” sensors that allow it to perform delicate tasks, such as capturing free-floating payloads in space.

The first Canadarm is now on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, in Ottawa.