When Atlantis took flight on the final journey of NASA's long-running shuttle program, the spacecraft continued a long tradition by carrying Canadian technology and ideas with it to the International Space Station.
In addition to four astronauts and a year's worth of supplies for the ISS, the shuttle hauled equipment for a joint NASA-Canada Space Agency test to explore the possibility of using a robot to refuel orbiting satellites.
A unique Canadian science experiment will also test changes to human skin sensitivity before and after spaceflight.
And in perhaps the coolest Canadian contribution to the final mission, Atlantis is also carrying a sealed bag of tomato seeds, which will remain at the ISS for 36 months. The seeds will then be brought back to Earth and distributed to classrooms so students can observe their germination rates.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who flew on Atlantis in 1995, said Canada has played a vital role in the shuttle franchise over its entire 30-year lifespan, contributing everything from astronauts and robotics to research and logistics. And yes, even tomato seeds.
"Canada's contribution has been enormous," Hadfield told CTV.ca in a telephone interview from the Kennedy Space Center. "We don't launch and land the shuttles but we are an absolutely key part of every single mission."
Garneau pioneers Canadian space travel
That contribution dates back to the early days of the program. The first Canadian astronaut to go to space, Marc Garneau -- now a Liberal MP -- travelled on the fourth shuttle flight in 1984, just after NASA decided to open the program to non-Americans and only a few years after the first launch in 1981.
Garneau's role, though groundbreaking, was as a payload specialist, meaning he was responsible for carrying out his own experiments but had no other duties on the shuttle or at the space station.
Fast forward to Julie Payette, who served as flight engineer aboard Discovery in 2009 and was responsible for all aspects of the flight and the crew.
And in the years between Garneau blasting off to Payette touched down, a total of eight Canadian astronauts have flown on 15 shuttle flights, travelling millions of kilometres and carrying out countless projects and experiments that have generated invaluable data over the years.
"It's really been a building block of steadily increasing capability, Canadian content, Canadian astronauts and increased responsibility within the world space program," Hadfield said. "And it's all due to our participation in the shuttle program as we proved our abilities."
Canadian astronauts have carried out scientific experiments in space and collected information about the changes that take place in the human body at zero gravity -- medical advances that are being used in the search for treatments for osteoporosis and heart problems, Hadfield said.
And the ability to manoeuvre and navigate massive pieces of precision equipment in space has been aided by the development of Canadian-made three-dimensional imaging systems, which have become a dynamic part of every flight, he said.
Canada reaches new heights with Canadarm
But Canada's single most important contribution to the program --- the one that put the Canadian flag into orbit and opened the door for Canadian astronauts to travel to space -- is the Canadarm.
The 15-metre Canadarm, or Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, was first carried to space on the second-ever shuttle mission in 1981. Since then it has played a vital role in 90 shuttle flights, Hadfield said.
"It was really the Canadarm on the space shuttles where we cut our teeth and proved our capabilities and proved to the world that we could do the job," Hadfield said. In fact, it was the success of Canadarm that motivated NASA to invite a Canadian astronaut to go to space.
The Canadian-designed and constructed device has been used for everything from knocking ice off the side of the shuttle, to anchoring spacewalking astronauts and capturing errant satellites.
The robotic arm has proven so useful it has even been adapted to purposes no one ever foresaw. In the early 1980s, for example, NASA was working on developing an expensive jet-pack system known as a man-manoeuvering unit, or MMU, so that astronauts could be mobile while outside the ISS.
But after a few experiments it was discovered that Canadarm could do the job much more easily, Hadfield said.
"It could move them around so dexterously and elegantly and effortlessly, that they cancelled the MMU," he said.
And it was the Canadarm that allowed the shuttle program to return to space in the wake of the Columbia disaster in 2003. Seven astronauts were killed when the spacecraft disintegrated on re-entry due to damage that occurred during launch.
In the wake of the tragedy the robotic arm, which is mounted to the shuttle, was adapted so that it could be fitted with an extension arm, sensors and cameras to inspect the hull of the shuttle for damage before making the return trip to Earth.
"If we'd had one of those on Columbia," Hadfield said, the crew may have survived. "We just didn't know," he added.
Canadarm2's vital role in ISS assembly
The Canadarm2, a direct descendant of the Canadarm, has also been vitally important to the shuttle program over the years. Mounted to the International Space Station, the 17-metre Mobile Servicing System was the key to assembling the various components of the International Space Station – work that simply couldn't have occurred if the device hadn't functioned exactly as intended.
"We were in the critical path to build the space station, meaning that if we failed the whole project failed," Hadfield said.
With the shuttle retiring, so will the Canadarm. The device will go on display with Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center, after its final journey is complete.
Canadarm2, however, will continue its work at the ISS along with Dextre, known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, another Canadian robot considered to be the "space handyman" at the ISS.
Hadfield admitted there is an element of regret when he considers that the shuttle program, which allowed him to fulfill his childhood dream of travelling to space, has reached an end.
But looking forward he said he is excited about the future of space travel and the role that Canada will play in space exploration.
"It's like saying did we lose something when grandmother died? Yes, of course. But you have to look at the legacy she left and the things that we gained, the things we learned from her life," he said.
Hadfield is about to begin one of the biggest challenges of his career. He will fly to the International Space Station in 2012 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, and will spend six months at the ISS.
For part of that time he will become the first Canadian to command the ISS, and will have six astronauts who will be under his charge.
