Around 9:00 am EST, on 13 November 1981, Pilot Richard Truly proceeds to deploy Canadarm out of the Shuttle Columbia's cargo bay for the first time. Truly tests the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (arm 201) in all its operating modes. "The arm is out and it works beautifully," Truly reported to Mission Control. "Its movements are much more flexible than they appeared during training simulations." About an hour later, as the Shuttle flies over the U.S., the first images are transmitted to the ground, showing Canadarm, bent in an inverted V shape position, that shines against the black-jet background of space and a milky blue Earth.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used to deploy and manoeuvre the Plasma Diagnostics Package, on the first operational mission of the Shuttle arm.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used to deploy and manoeuvre the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor.

Operated by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, Canadarm (arm 201) is used to deploy and retrieve the SPAS-01 science platform.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used to deploy and manoeuvre the Payload Flight Test Article payload.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used as a work platform for spacewalkers Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart. During two spacewalks, the two astronauts perform the first tests in space of the manned manoeuvering unit (MMU), a free-flying space scooter.

Canadarm (arm 302) is used to deploy the 10.5-tonne, bus-size Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), as well as to rescue, repair and redeploy the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. This first repair on orbit of a satellite is achieved by spacewalkers James Van Hoften and George Nelson.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to free clogged waste water on the Shuttle.

First Canadian Astronaut mission, with Marc Garneau aboard. He performs the CANEX-1 set of experiments. Canadarm (arm 302) is used to deploy the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), as well as to support a spacewalk by Kathryn Sullivan and David Leestma.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to rescue the Westar VI and Palapa B-2 satellites, and to support spacewalk activities by astronauts Joseph Allen and Dale Gardner.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to support this first U.S. Department of Defense mission, a classified three-day mission.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used with a "swatter" to repair a Syncom communications satellite during a three-hour spacewalk performed by Jeffrey Hoffman and David Griggs. A Canadian Anik communications satellite is also deployed during this mission.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to deploy, release and retrieve the Spartan-1 platform. For its first flight, the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy (Spartan) operates autonomously in the vicinity of the Shuttle.

Canadarm (arm 302) is used to deploy, release, and retrieve Plasma Diagnostics Package.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used as a work platform to hold Syncom/Leasat-3 satellite for repairs by spacewalking astronauts James Van Hoften and William Fisher.

Canadarm (arm 302) is used to monitor water dumps from the Shuttle on this Spacelab mission.

Canadarm (arm 303) is used for demonstration of space station truss construction by spacewalkers Jerry Ross and Sherwood Spring. In two spacewalks lasting a total of 12 hours and 20 minutes, they perform the EASE/ACCESS (Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures) assembly experiments.

The crew of this mission, including the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, are all killed when Challenger explodes, 73 seconds after liftoff. Arm 302 is also lost.

First Canadarm flight onboard U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis. Canadarm (arm 201) is used to support this four-day Department of Defense classified mission.

Mission Specialist Bonnie Dunbar uses Canadarm (arm 201) to retrieve the 10.5-tonne Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), which had been orbiting silently since 1984. Dunbar grapples the bus-size satellite on Mission Day 4, January 12.

Canadarm (arm 301), operated by Mission Specialist Steven Hawley, is used to deploy and release the long-awaited Hubble Space Telescope.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to evaluate the atomic oxygen effects on various materials of the Intelsat Solar Array Coupon payload.

Canadarm (arm 303) is used in the deployment of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The Shuttle arm is also used to support two spacewalks by astronauts Jerry Ross and Jerome Apt, for a total of 10 hours and 49 minutes.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to deploy and retrieve the Shuttle Pallet Satellite platform on this first unclassified U.S. Deptarment of Defense-sponsored mission. The SPAS platform carries the Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) experiment.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to deploy Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), with 11 science payloads, including Canada's WINDII instrument.

First Canadarm flight onboard U.S. Space Shuttle Endeavour. Canadarm (arm 303) is used to retrieve the Intelsat-VI satellite and to support the four spacewalks required to repair the stranded communications satellite. EVA-3, by astronauts Pierre Thuot, Richard Hieb and Thomas Akers, gives way to the first-ever three-person EVA and is the longest U.S. spacewalk, at 8 hours and 29 minutes.

Canadarm (arm 201), operated by the first non-U.S. Mission Specialist, ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, is used to deploy the EURECA platform. EURECA (European Retrievable Carrier), carrying a variety of materials, life sciences and radiobiology experiments, would spend nearly 11 months orbiting the Earth prior to its retrieval on STS-57 in June 1993.

On this life science mission, Shuttle arm 303 is used for experimental manoevres only.

With the third Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Steve MacLean flying on a space mission, Canadarm (arm 301) is used to support the CANEX-2 set of experiments, including the first space test of the Canadian Space Vision System (CSVS). Cameras in the cargo bay are pointed at the dot array disposed on the surface of the Canadian Target Assembly (CTA), a passive satellite that is grappled at the end of Canadarm for the CANEX experiment.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used to deploy, release and retrieve the Spartan-201 platform on a Solar Physics mission.

Canadarm (arm 303) is used to retrieve the EURECA platform. Canadarm also supports a spacewalk by G. David Low and Jeff Wisoff that lasts 5 hours and 50 minutes.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used for the deploy, releasing and retrieval of the ORFEUS-SPAS platform which carries, along with its astronomy payload, a Canadian-made remote IMAX camera.

Operated by ESA Mission Specialist Claude Nicollier, Canadarm (arm 303) is used to retrieve and later redeploy the Hubble Space Telescope during this critical first repair mission. Canadarm also supports a record number of EVAs, five, totalling 35 hours and 28 minutes. The spacewalks are carried out by astronauts F. Story Musgrave and Jeffrey Hoffman (EVA-1; EVA-3; EVA-5), and by Thomas Akers and Katherine Thornton (EVA-2; EVA-4).

For the first time, a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, flies aboard an American space shuttle. On Day 3, Mission Specialist Jan Davis grapples the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-1) with Canadarm (arm 201) and lifts the 3.7-metre wide disk (used to plow through space, pushing aside stray molecules of atomic oxygen, to create an ultrapure vacuum behind the satellite) above Discovery’s cargo bay.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used in conjunction with a magnetic end effector to demonstrate the Dexterous End Effector (DEE).

Shuttle arm 303 used only as support in case of contingency EVA activity.

Canadarm (arm 201) is used to position the Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX) experimental boom; to deploy and retrieve Spartan 201-II platform; and to support a 6 hour, 51 minute EVA activity by astronauts Mark Lee and Carl Meade. The two spacewalkers make history when they test the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER), a small, self-contained propulsive backpack device that provides free-flying mobility for an EVA astronaut in an emergency.

Shuttle arm 303 used only as support in case of contingency EVA activity.

Operated by ESA Mission Specialist Jean-François Clervoy, Canadarm (arm 202) is used to deploy and retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS shuttle pallet satellite. CRISTA-SPAS mission is to study the chemical make-up of the earth’s middle atmosphere.

During this historic rendezvous mission with space station Mir, which included amongst crew members the first-ever female pilot, Eileen Marie Collins, Canadarm (arm 201) deploys and retrieves the Spartan 204 platform, and supports a 5 hour, 39 minute EVA activity by astronauts Bernard Harris and C. Michael Foale.

Shuttle arm 303 used only as support in case of contingency EVA activity.

Canadarm (arm 303) is used to deploy and to retrieve both the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-2) ultra-vacuum experiments and the Spartan 201 platform.

During this second docking mission to Mir, Chris Hadfield becomes the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to operate Canadarm when he uses Shuttle arm 301 to build the large, 5-tonne Russian Docking Module onto Atlantis' Orbiter Docking System.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata operates shuttle arm 303 to retrieve Japan's Space Flyer Unit. Canadarm is also used to deploy and retrieve the Spartan-based OAST Flyer.

Marc Garneau makes his second space flight and becomes the second Canadian Space Agency astronaut to operate Canadarm (arm 301) when he uses it to retrieve Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE), which has been deployed earlier by Mission Specialist Mario Runco.

Canadarm (arm 202) is used to deploy the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-3) and ORFEUS-SPAS II platform. Due to problems opening Columbia's airlock hatch, planned EVA could not be performed.

Operated by Mission Specialist Steven Hawley, Canadarm (arm 301) is used for retrieval and redeployment operations during the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Canadarm also supports five spacewalks by astronauts Mark Lee and Steven Smith (EVA-1; EVA-3; EVA-5) and by astronauts Gregory Harbaugh and Joseph Tanner (EVA-2; EVA-4).

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to deploy and retrieve the CRISTA/SPAS II platform that carries a payload to study the chemical make-up of the Earth’s middle atmosphere. During this mission, Bjarni Tryggvason becomes the sixth Canadian Space Agency astronaut in space. Tryggvason tests on orbit the second generation Microgravity Insulation Mount (MIM), of which he is a co-designer.

Canadarm (arm 301) releases the Spartan 201-04 platform, but due to a faulty manoeuvre by arm operator Kalpana Chawla, the tumbling platform has to be manually captured by spacewalkers Winston Scott and Takaoi Doi, representing NASDA, the Japanese space agency (now JAXA). Canadarm is later used to support EVA activity EDFT-05, an ORU (Orbital Replacement Unit) handling experiment.

During this last flight of the Shuttle-Mir Docking Program, Canadarm (arm 201) is undergoes a complete check of all its modes and functions to evaluate new, digital Servo Power Amplifiers (SPA) that now electronically control each of its six joints.

During this Spacehab mission that sees the return to space of former astronaut Sen. John H. Glenn, Canadarm (arm 201), operated by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, is used to deploy Spartan 201-5 platform. Two days later, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson operates Canadarm to grapple the science satellite and place it in Discovery’s cargo bay.

Operated by Mission Specialist Nancy Currie, Canadarm (arm 202), aided for the first time by the Canadian Space Vision System (CSVS), is used to dock the Unity connecting node to the first element of the International Space Station, Russian module Zarya. Later, Canadarm supports three spacewalks, totalling 21 hours, 22 minutes, by spacewalkers Jerry Ross and Jim Newman.

During this logistics mission to the embryonic International Space Station, Canadarm is used to support an eight-hour EVA. While Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa operates arm 303 to move EV1 Tammy Jernigan around Discovery's cargo bay, Julie Payette, the eighth Canadian Space Agency astronaut in space and first to board the Space Station, acts as "choreographer" of the spacewalk from Discovery's flight deck. Later in the mission, Payette operates Canadarm to inspect the targets of the Canadian Space Vision System.

Canadarm (arm 301) is used to retrieve and later redeploy the Hubble Space Telescope during the third servicing mission to the first of NASA's Great Observatories. Always operated by ESA Mission Specialist Jean-François Clervoy, Canadarm also supports three EVAs by spacewalkers Steve Smith and John Grunsfeld, for a total of 24 hours, 33 minutes.

Canadarm (arm 202) is used to support a 6.5-hour EVA by astronauts James S. Voss and Jeffrey N. Williams, who make the last planned equipment changes prior to the arrival of the ISS’s third element, Russia’s Zvezdas ervice module.

Canadarm (arm 202) is used to support a 6.25-hour spacewalk by US astronaut Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who made a grueling ascent to lay cable and install a boom for a navigation unit on the exterior of the ISS.

Operated by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Canadarm (arm 301) is used to install the Z1 (Zenith 1) truss and pressurized mating adapter 3 (PMA-3) on the Station. Again operated by Wakata, Canadarm is used to support four spacewalks, alternately carried out by the teams of Leroy Chiao and William McArthur (EVA 1 and 3), as well as Jeff Wisoff and Michael Lopez-Alegria (EVA 2 and 4).

For his third and final voyage to space, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Marc Garneau operates Canadarm (arm 303) to build the P6 integrated truss structure that contains a photovoltaic array assembly on the Zenith Z1 truss. Later, Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield uses Canadarm to support spacewalkers Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega during three EVAs totalling 19 hours, 20 minutes, while Garneau acts as the IVA officer, a kind of "choreographer" of the spacewalks.

Operated by Marsha Ivins, Canadarm (arm 202) is used first to remove a station docking port, called Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2), making room to install the U.S. Laboratory Module Destiny, the heart of the International Space Station. Later, Ivins uses Canadarm to move PMA 2, which had been temporarily parked on the side of the Station’s external truss structure, to the forward end of the newly installed Destiny. Canadarm also supports spacewalkers Bob Curbeam and Tom Jones during three EVAs totalling 19 hours, 49 minutes. Curbeam and Jones hook Destiny to the Unity node; help attach PMA 2 to the forward end of Destiny; attach a spare communications antenna on the exterior of the Station; and inspect the solar arrays.

With the first-ever exchange of Space Station crew under way (Discovery brings Expedition Two crew members Yuri Ussachev, Susan Helms and Jim Voss, to the Space Station to replace Expedition One crew members Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev), Mission Specialist Andy Thomas first uses Canadarm (arm 301) to support an 8-hour, 56-minute EVA by Susan Helms and Jim Voss. A day later, Thomas uses Canadarm to remove the Italian space agency’s Leonardo logistics module from the Shuttle’s cargo bay and attach it to the Station’s Unity module. Pilot James Kelly operates Canadarm to move around Andy Thomas, accompanied by Mission Specialist Paul Richards during a second spacewalk that lasts 6 hours, 30 minutes.

Sunday April 22, 2001, is a historic day for Canada. At 7:45 a.m. EDT on Mission Day 4, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield becomes the first Canadian astronaut ever to perform a spacewalk as he steps out of Shuttle Endeavour’s airlock with crewmate Scott Parazynski, on the first of two planned EVAs. As the pair donstheir spacesuits, Pilot Jeff Ashby powers up Canadarm (arm 303) and uses it to latch the Spacelab Pallet that contains the folded Canadarm2, a 17-metre robotic arm that will help construct and maintain the International Space Station, to a cradle on the Destiny module.

EVA-1, which lasts 7 hours and 10 minutes, first involves installation of a UHF antenna as well as the installation of cables that provide station power, command, and video to and from the Flight Support Equipment Grapple Fixture on the Pallet. The two spacewalkers then remove the eight metre-long superbolts that secured Canadarm2 during launch. To facilitate the unfolding of Canadarm2, Hadfield, who is riding at the end of Canadarm, which is being lifted by Ashby, pushes Canadarm2 up.

On Mission Day 5, Parazynski uses Canadarm to attach the Raffaello logistics module to a port on the Station’s Unity module. Then on Mission Day 6, Canadarm, again operated by Ashby, is used to support the second spacewalk by Hadfield and Parazynski. EVA-2, lasting 7 hours and 40, the two spacewalkers complete power and data connections on Canadarm2 and disconnect cables on the Spacelab Pallet. On Mission Day 9, Parazynski uses Canadarm to move back the 6 668-kilogram Raffaello module into the cargo bay.

Saturday 28 April 2001 (Mission Day 10) also made history for Canada in space. At 4:44 p.m., Chris Hadfield, aboard Endeavour, commanded Canadarm to grasp the Spacelab Pallet that is held by Canadarm2, operated from inside the Destiny module by Expedition Two member Susan Helms. 18 minutes later, the pallet, which had been used as a launch cradle for Canadarm2, changes hands as this historical handshake between two generations of Canadian space robotics occurs high above British Columbia.

Canadarm (arm 202), operated by Mission Specialist Janet Kavandi, is used to support two of three spacewalks by astronauts Michael Gernhardt and James Reilly. During EVA-1, Gernhardt and Reilly assist Canadarm2 operator Susan Helms with the installation–the first operational mission of the Canadian station manipulator–of the Quest joint airlock onto the Station’s Unity node. On EVA-2, a spacewalk that lasts 6 hours 29 minutes, Gernhardt and Reilly install three high-pressure gas tanks onto the Quest airlock.

During this second ISS crew exchange mission (Discovery brings to the Station Expedition Three members Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin, to replace Expedition Two members Yuri Ussachev, Susan Helms and Jim Voss), Canadarm (arm 301), first operated by Mission Specialist Pat Forrester, is used to lift the Leonardo supply vessel and attach it onto the Unity node.

Discovery’s Commander Scott Horowitz later operates Canadarm to support two spacewalks by astronauts Dan Barry and Pat Forrester. EVA-1, an excursion that lasts 6 hours and 16 minutes, involves installing the Early Ammonia Servicer and the first external experiment, a materials samples exposition experiment called MISSE, on the Station’s hull. During EVA-2, a spacewalk that lasts 5 hours and 29 minutes, Barry and Forrester successfully strings two 45-foot heater cables and installs handrails down both sides of the Destiny module. Two days after EVA-2, Forrester uses Canadarm to carefully remove the Leonardo logistics module from the Station and place it back in Discovery’s cargo bay.

Canadarm (arm 303) will be used to support this logistics flight and third ISS crew exchange mission (Expedition Four members Yuri Onufrienko, Daniel Bursch and Carl Waltz are going to replace Expedition Three members Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin). Endeavour will deliver the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency EVARM (Extra-Vehicular Activity Radiation Monitor) experiment hardware is part of the STS-108 manifest.

During this 11-day mission, Canadarm (arm 201) is used to rejuvenate the Hubble Space Telescope with the help of astronauts performing five spacewalks. After grasping the telescope and pulling it into the payload bay, the spacewalkers, assisted by Mission Specialist Nancy Jane Currie operating Canadarm, install new and improved equipment: a new power distribution module and a camera that can see twice as great an area with more speed and clarity. They also install an experimental cooling system in hope of restoring life to the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer.

Canadarm (arm 202) supports a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk by U.S. astronauts Steven Smith and Rex Walheim, who release a claw that initially held the truss to the Lab. They also reconfigure Canadarm2 connectors for electricity from the Lab to be powered by the truss. Smith works from the end of Canadarm while Walheim free floats, tethered to the Station. Smith and Walheim also release clamps that secured the mobile transporter to the truss.

On the fourth day of the mission, Canadarm (arm 303) operated by Commander Cockrell is used to move the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo (MPLM) from Endeavour's payload bay to the Unity module. Leonardo contains equipment and supplies that are transferred from the middeck of the Shuttle to the Station.

The first spacewalk of this mission focuses on the pre-installation of the Mobile Base System (MBS), Canada's second contribution to the ISS. Astronauts Philippe Perrin and Franklin Chang-Diaz suit up and venture out by the ISS Airlock. Astronaut Walz and cosmonaut Korzun operate Canadarm2 to move spacewalkers around, while Commander Cockrell operates Canadarm to film spacewalk activities using its cameras.

At the end of the mission, Canadarm fills the MPLM with unneeded equipment and refuse from the Station for return to Earth.

Shuttle arm 202 used only as support in case of contingency spacewalk activity.

Operated by U.S. astronaut Jim Wetherbee, Canadarm (arm 303) is used to remove the P1 truss from Endeavour's payload bay and to hand it off to the station's Canadarm2. Astronauts Whitson and Bowersox manoeuvre the P1 to its installation position.

STS-114 is the first Return to Flight mission since the tragic loss of Columbia on February 1, 2003. Over two years have been spent researching and implementing safety improvements for orbiters and external tanks. One of the requirements was to inspect the underside of the Shuttle before reentry. To make this possible, MDA of Brampton, Ontario developed an extension to Canadarm to perform on-orbit inspections of the Shuttle's thermal protection system.

During mission STS-114, Canadarm (arm 301) and its extension boom are used to conduct surveys of Space Shuttle Discovery after launch and before landing. The crew uses Canadarm to pick up the new 15-metre Orbiter Boom, and, like a dental mirror, inspect hard-to-reach areas of the Shuttle. The Laser Camera System, one of the two 3-D laser imagers at the tip of the boom, studies the parts of Discovery's wings and nose subject to the most intense heat during reentry for damage.

Mission STS-121, the second Return to Flight mission, aims to demonstrate techniques for inspecting and protecting the shuttle's thermal protection system and to replace critical hardware needed for future station assembly.

En route to the station, the day after launch, Canadarm (arm 301) and its 15-metre orbiter boom sensor system (OBSS) tipped with two types of lasers and a high-resolution television camera are used to inspect key areas of the wings for any sign of damage that may have occurred during launch. Additional inspections using this equipment occur the day before and the day of undocking from the Space Station.

During the first spacewalk, Canadarm and OBSS are tested as a platform for spacewalking astronauts to repair damaged hard-to-reach areas of the orbiter.