The Anik E2 Solar Disruption and Its Effect on Telesat Canada Elizabeth Howell
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University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2012 Caution Light: The Anik E2 Solar Disruption And Its Effect On Telesat Canada Elizabeth Howell Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Howell, Elizabeth, "Caution Light: The Anik E2 Solar Disruption And Its Effect On Telesat Canada" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 1293. https://commons.und.edu/theses/1293 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CAUTION LIGHT: THE ANIK E2 SOLAR DISRUPTION AND ITS EFFECT ON TELESAT CANADA by Elizabeth Amanda Howell Bachelor of Journalism, Carleton University, 2007 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota August 2012 © 2012 Elizabeth Howell ii This thesis, submitted by Elizabeth Howell in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done, and is hereby approved. _______________________________________ Dr. David Whalen, Chair _______________________________________ Dr. James Casler, Committee Member _______________________________________ Dr. Ron Fevig, Committee Member _______________________________________ Dr. James Mochoruk, Committee Member This thesis is being submitted by the appointed advisory committee as having met all of the requirements of the Graduate School at the University of North Dakota and is hereby approved. ____________________________________ Wayne Swisher Interim Dean of the Graduate School ____________________________________ Date iii Title Caution Light: The Anik E2 Solar Disruption and Its Effect on Telesat Canada Department Space Studies Degree Master of Science In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in her/his absence, by the Chairperson of the department or the dean of the Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Elizabeth Howell June 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................vii ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1 Methodology.....................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem.................................................................4 II. CANADIAN SPACE PRIOR TO TELESAT..............................................6 Chapman Report...............................................................................7 Run-up to Telesat Canada Act........................................................10 III. FORMATION OF TELESAT.....................................................................13 Committee Debates........................................................................14 Main Features of Telesat Canada Act.............................................18 IV. CHAPTER IV: TELESAT HISTORY OVERVIEW..............................21 Privatization Debates in Parliament...............................................22 BCE Acquisition and Subsequent Sale to Loral, PSP.....................26 2010 Review of Telesat’s Future....................................................27 V. CHAPTER V: ANIK E2 LAUNCH AND SOLAR STORM...........30 Anik E1/E2 Technical Features......................................................30 v Anik E2 Antenna Issues and Resolution........................................31 The Solar Storm..............................................................................33 VI. ANIK E2 RECOVERY..............................................................................41 VII. CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................46 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................49 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A decade ago, in a Canadian suburb far, far away from Grand Forks, I discovered there was a graduate distance degree available in Space Studies that would let me stay close to my home while pursuing my passion. My young age and subsequent life circumstances prevented me from starting until 2010. It has been a privilege in the two years since then. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the members of my advisory committee for their guidance and support during my time in the masters program at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Whalen, Dr. Casler, Dr. Fevig and Dr. Mochoruk were all available almost immediately when I needed them to be, which was greatly appreciated since most of my studies were undertaken while living seven hours away from Grand Forks. This thesis would not have been possible without their help. Also, a large thank you to Bev Fetter, who keeps the trains running in the department and helped me immensely as I battled through the needed forms and other requirements to complete my degree. The Department of Space Studies funded approximately two-thirds of my tuition via tuition waivers, which made a very expensive international degree a far more affordable one. My infinite gratitude goes to the department for their generosity; you gave me a gift that I will never be able to fully repay. Thank you also to The Ray Foundation, which provided a scholarship that partially offset the cost of my final term at UND. This thesis would not have been possible without the time and efforts of the seven people who did interviews with me. Infinite gratitude goes to Barry Turner, David Boteler, Bruce Burlton, John C.P. King, Martin Marcotte, Bob Meldrum and Nick Martens for taking the time to speak with me. They each spent anywhere from half an hour to an hour recalling something that happened nearly 20 years ago, and made the effort to be flexible with my often chaotic schedule as a journalist. In some cases, they passed along valuable documents or other sources for me use, which made my job a lot easier. They cannot be given enough credit for what appears on these pages. Telesat itself provided contacts and several bits of information upon request. Special thanks to Heather Woolcox for her swift help and support for me to report on an incident that wasn't necessarily her company's brightest hour, at least until the successful recovery took place. My editor, Peter Kovessy, at the Ottawa Business Journal was flexible when school required vacation days or leaving the office a bit early. His support is greatly appreciated. Several colleagues at the newspaper asked for updates on my progress, which made me feel as though I had a lot of backing from other employees at the newspaper. vii James Howell, my brother, essentially trusted me with his Carleton University library card several times when he checked out resources for this thesis and papers leading up to it. In addition, he helped me photocopy several papers and track down various sources related to Anik E2, using the university's system. His efforts saved me a lot of time and hours of cold bus rides. Thank you so much. Two science journalism students from my alma mater, Carleton University, stepped up to transcribe interviews after I reached out to my past adviser, Kathryn O'Hara. Thank you to Jordan Fallis and Laura Kluz for their quick and efficient work, which saved me hours. Thank you also to Kathryn and Dave Tait, who along with former OBJ editor Jim Donnelly wrote very nice recommendation letters for me to apply to UND and, I was told, assured my acceptance. I visited Grand Forks half a dozen times during my degree and want to thank the students who made me feel welcome there, in particular Kajli Agrawal and Annie Wargetz. The Graduate School, especially Susan Caraher, was also a wonderful moral support. Several employees at Library and Archives Canada taught me how to use their document ordering system, showed me how to find certain types of information, and also pulled resources out for me when needed. My gratefulness to you. A large thank you to my nearly 2,000 Twitter followers who listened as I talked about my studies under the #spacestudies hashtag. You were great company during late nights. Lastly and most importantly, infinite thanks to my family (Mummy, Daddy, James, Amelia and guinea pig Jazzy) and friends (in particular, Evan Annett) for moral support during a very busy two years. I am who I am, and I do what I do, because of