- John Herbert Chapman
John Herbert Chapman (
August 8 1921 -September 28 ,1979 ) fromLondon, Ontario , son of Lt. Col. Lloyd Chapman and Kathleen Chapman, was a Canadian space researcher. Chapman started his career with his work onradio propagation and theionosphere . He later received a Master of Science degree and a Ph.D. in physics atMcGill University inMontreal, Quebec . After his studies at university Chapman got his first position in the government with theDefense Research Board (DRB). He was then promoted to the position of section leader of the ionospheric propagation unit at theDefense Research Telecommunications Establishment (DRTE) in 1951 atShirley's Bay , a Canadian military and civilian telecommunication research campus.He was also a superintendent.While at Shirley's Bay he worked on a number of projects. One of the projects he directed was the ground-breaking Canadian satellite called Alouette. The DRTE having no experience developing
satellite s had to work quite hard to think of and counter all the difficulties they would face in the harsh environment of space. Because of his work on Alouette he was promoted to chairman of government study group to study the upper atmosphere and space programs in Canada.While chairman, he compiled his findings into "The Chapman Report" in which he argued that Canada needed to redirect its space program in order to continue its ongoing research more effectively and efficiently. "The Chapman Report" remains an important document in helping the
Canadian Space Agency choose what they should work on when it comes tospace program s.Chapman was given awards for his work in aero-space technology. The first was given by the
Royal Society of Canada in 1966; he also received an Engineering medal from the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Dillinger Gold Medal from the International Union of Radio Scientists the same year. In 1967 Chapman was awarded with the Charles Chree Medal and Prize and the McCurdy award from the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institution.Chapman was a member of the
Royal Society of Canada . He was also part of the National Research Council (NRC) Associate committee on Space Research, a council of the top Canadian space scientists. He also served on theInternational Union of Radio Science and theAmerican Geophysical Union .After his death in the year 1979, the Canadian Space Agency was formed to organize and give Canada its own space agency to create a central place to meet and work on Canadian space projects. With this new organization Canada has been able to construct and launch new projects into orbit. One of the most important Canadian projects is
Canadarm which has become used frequently on theInternational Space Station (or ISS for short).When the headquarters building of the Canadian Space Agency was completed in 1992, it was named the
John H. Chapman Space Centre , in his honour.External links
* [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/satellites/english/canadian/q2.html Digital Collections government website - About John Herbert Chapman]
* [http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=135 Science.ca Profile: John Herbert Chapman]
* [http://www.canadaconnects.ca/space/main/1203/ Article based on interviews with scientists who worked for John H. Chapman]
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