posted 06-08-2004 08:32 AM               

quote:

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Winnipeg -- Albert Fia, who was known as the father of Canadian rocketry, has died at the age of 89.

Mr. Fia, who died Saturday, developed the Black Brant rockets in the early 1960s. The rockets are still used by NASA and by universities and government agencies in the U.S. and around the world.

"He really is the father of rocketry in Canada," Joe Tharayil, Bristol's retired director of engineering, said yesterday.

Mr. Fia was born in Lethbridge and served in the Second World War. He joined Bristol Aerospace in 1958.

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posted 07-17-2004 05:47 PM            

Black Brants have been a steady workhorse in upper atmospheric studies for decades.

It is lasting legacy to Mr Fia.

Condolences to his family