A simulated Canadarm installed on the Space Shuttle Enterprise was seen when the prototype orbiter 's payload bay doors were open to test hangar facilities early in the shuttle program. The Canadarm was first tested in orbit in 1981, on Space Shuttle Columbia 's STS - 2 mission. Its first operational use was on STS - 3 to deploy and maneuver the Plasma Diagnostics Package. Canadarm has since flown on more than 90 missions with all five orbiters.
on which space shuttle was the canadarm first tested in space
Columbia