Chris Gainor

Who is Chris Gainor?

Chris Gainor is a historian of technology specializing in space exploration and aeronautics. He has written four books on the history of space exploration and on the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, a jet interceptor aircraft canceled by the Canadian government in 1959.

He holds a Ph.D. in the history of technology from the University of Alberta, and has worked as a history instructor in the University of Victoria's history department and as an Assistant Professor for the Royal Military College of Canada.

Earlier in his career, Gainor worked as a reporter for the Vancouver Sun, where he won a National Newspaper Award for a series on Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox. He also has worked and written for several other publications, and worked for governmental and non-governmental organizations. He is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and is currently Second Vice President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

His first book, Arrows to the Moon, tells the story of the 32 British and Canadian aerospace engineers who went to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1959 after losing their jobs when the Canadian government cancelled the Avro Arrow.