Canada accepted the United States' offer to launch an entire spacecraft built by Canada, called Alouette 1.
Ariel 1 and Alouette 1 were among the first spacecraft to study the ionosphere and magnetosphere as part of NASA Goddard's contributions to space science.
Alouette 1 was designed to remain spin stabilized throughout its mission but experienced issues with the antenna flexibility causing 'solar motoring'.
Alouette 1 was launched on September 29, 1962, as a joint Canadian-US project to study the upper regions of Earth's ionosphere.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center was heavily involved in the Ariel 1 and Alouette 1 missions.
Alouette 1 featured the longest antennas flown on any satellite at that time, measuring 150 feet and 75 feet.
Alouette 1 weighed 145.6 kilograms and was designed and constructed in Canada, with NASA providing launch and tracking.