Dear readers,

We welcome you to the inaugural edition of The Orbiter—a magazine published on January 25, 2025—by SEDS-ÉEDS Canada, a national non-profit in Canada’s space industry!

This project was founded by past and current members of SEDS-Canada’s Communications Team. Over a year of collaboration—including the creation of SEDS-Canada’s first online blog—we realized that we had the potential to support voices in Canada’s space industry further with the publication of a magazine.

That dream has been realized by the publication of the inaugural issue of The Orbiter in January 2025, which would not have been possible without the contributions of our outstanding contributors and masthead. We encourage you, the reader, to explore the magazine in full.

In What is SEDS-ÉEDS Canada?, Noordeep Cheema, Ahmad Khan, and Adam A. Lam present an introduction to the non-profit, focusing on initiatives that students & early-career professionals can participate in to prepare themselves for Canada’s space industry.

In Voyagers, Daniel Benaich takes us on a breathtaking journey to the edges of space aboard the research vessel ARCTURUS. When a catastrophic hull breach forces a frantic evacuation, the chaos sets the stage for an even greater mystery.

Through In Conversation with Dr. Pandya, Makenna Kuzyk introduces readers to the remarkable journey of Dr. Shawna Pandya—a Canadian physician, aquanaut, and now an astronaut—who stands at the forefront of commercial space exploration and space medicine.

In Beyond the Known Cosmos, Zoe Hughes invites readers on a thrilling journey into the heart of scientific discovery, where longstanding theories of stellar evolution are confronted by the enigmatic lithium enrichment phenomenon in red giant stars.

In Layers to Liftoff, Dora Strelkova paints a vivid picture of the transformative potential of 3D printing technology in space exploration, from enabling on-demand repairs in space to providing a way of building sustainable habitats on distant planets.

In Bringing Canada to Orbit, Alexander J.T. Guindon highlights the transformative potential of Canada’s first commercial spaceport, spearheaded by Maritime Launch Services in Nova Scotia.

In the French-language piece Voyage à Vénus, Emma Blanchet explores Rocket Lab’s groundbreaking mission to uncover the secrets of our mysterious planetary neighbor.

In The Last Hours of Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko, Maria Volosatov delves into the tragic, little-known story of a cosmonaut whose life was cut short during a pre-flight endurance test just weeks before Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey into space.

Thank you for your support of The Orbiter with your readership!