A Canadian space pioneer with an Okanagan connection has died, but his memory will live on.
Bruce Aikenhead worked on some of the most important Canadian and American space programs ever. He died Aug. 5 at 95.
When Aikenhead retired to the Shuswap, he became involved with the Okanagan Science Centre (OSC).
“He was the driving creative force behind our planetarium — the only fixed roof planetarium in the B.C. Interior — and our Space for Space Exhibit,” says Jim Swingle, the centre's executive director. “The Okanagan Science Centre is in the process of upgrading our planetarium and space exhibit experience, to be completed in June, 2020. To honour Bruce’s great contributions to the space program, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Okanagan Science Centre, our upgraded planetarium will be named the Bruce Aikenhead Planetarium.”
Aikenhead’s career began as a radar engineer in the Second World War before becoming a flight simulator engineer for Canadian fighter jets. From there, he joined NASA to work on its first manned space flight project — the Mercury Missions.
Following that, he worked on the Gemini program and many others over the years.
“It was Bruce who convinced NASA to partner with Canada for their space shuttle missions, and personally he supervised the development of the Canadarm and the Canadian astronaut program as a result,” says Swingle.
Upon his retirement from his position as the director general of the Canadian Astronaut Program, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He spent much of his retirement on the board of directors at the OSC, meticulously designing the space exhibits and planetarium.
“My favourite Bruce Aikenhead story was when he was designing one of the pieces in our Space for Space exhibit,” says Swingle. “No one was sure of the exact measurement for a model we were constructing, so Bruce called NASA to get the answer.”
— Darren Handschuh, Castanet
