A History of The Orbiter

The Orbiter is a Canadian magazine of science fiction, non-fiction, and ideas established in 2024 and published by SEDS-ÉEDS Canada, a registered national space industry non-profit.

Adam A. Lam, then the newly-elected president of SEDS-ÉEDS Canada and its chief technology officer, co-founded and launched the magazine with his trusted teammates from the Communications Team, whom he worked closely with as the non-profit’s outgoing vice-president of communications.

These were Maria Volosatov (Co-Editor-in-Chief), who was essential to the success of the fiction & poetry sections and contributor recruitment, Elena Osipyan (Creative & Art Director), who developed the visual design of the magazine and produced its illustrations and logo, Taylor Munnikhuis (Art Director) who also developed the visual design of the magazine and played a crucial role in marketing, and Emma Blanchet (French Editor), who established a section to publish works in the French language. Uki Lazarev later joined in Volume 2 as its sole Creative & Art Director and played a vital role (including as Print Design Editor) in producing illustrations and developing of the visual design of the magazine, ensuring its continued success.

Adam drew inspiration to establish The Orbiter from his past experiences in campus journalism across several publications, gaining experience as a written news reporter, science editor, fact-checker & copy editor, and web developer. Most notably, at The Strand at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, he gained vital experience editing non-fiction articles, working with InDesign files, and developing websites for magazines from scratch. These experiences were vital for publishing The Orbiter’s inaugural issue, where he served as its print design editor, web developer, and co-editor-in-chief.

The Orbiter has since made a stellar impact on its contributors and readers. As a publication welcoming to first-time writers, contributors have shared their glowing experiences developing their articles and growing as writers by receiving feedback. Experienced writers have also shared thanks for the opportunity to publish their work in a magazine that welcomes their thoughts, research, and ideas on outer space, especially from a Canadian perspective.

Readers, too, have enthusiastically taken copies of The Orbiter during its distribution at SEDS-ÉEDS Canada’s flagship Canadian Space Conferences, as a creative magazine closely relevant to their interests. Readers have since discovered and become involved with SEDS-ÉEDS Canada thanks to The Orbiter; likewise, long-time SEDS-ÉEDS Canada community members have enjoyed their forays into creative work by publishing with The Orbiter.