New developments at Canada’s two competing spaceport projects
Proposed Canadian spaceports
It appears things are beginning to happen at the two proposed Canadian spaceports, as shown on the map to the right.
First, the long struggling Nova Scotia spaceport project by Maritime Launch Services, first proposed in 2016, has finally sealed its $1.7 million deal with the Canadian rocket startup Reaction Dynamics. That deal was first announced in October 2024, but apparently was not finalized until now. Reaction will not only do a suborbital launch from the spaceport, it will invest about $1 million in the spaceport itself.
Whether this Nova Scotia spaceport finally begins operating remains to be seen. It has been promising orbital launches since 2016, without any actually happening.
Second, the Canadian rocket startup Nordspace announced that it has begun construction of its own launch site, dubbed the Atlantic Spaceport Complex, in Newfoundland.
The Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) is a cornerstone of NordSpace’s mission to deliver sovereign and assured space access for Canada through an end-to-end space missions capability. The initial $10M phase of development for the Atlantic Spaceport Complex will feature two sites. SLC-01 will feature two launch pads for orbital missions including NordSpace’s Tundra vehicle and international launch partners from the U.S. and Europe. SLC-02 will consist of at least one smaller launch pad for suborbital missions, radar systems for vehicle tracking and space domain awareness, and other ground support equipment to enable all launch operations at the ASX.
The company hopes to complete a suborbital launch with what it calls its Taiga rocket later this month.
Nordspace only announced its existence in July 2024, almost a decade after the Nova Scotia project. Yet it appears it will be first to complete a commercial suborbital launch. Nova Scotia did have a suborbital launch in 2023, but it was a student project, not a commercial rocket.
Proposed Canadian spaceports
It appears things are beginning to happen at the two proposed Canadian spaceports, as shown on the map to the right.
First, the long struggling Nova Scotia spaceport project by Maritime Launch Services, first proposed in 2016, has finally sealed its $1.7 million deal with the Canadian rocket startup Reaction Dynamics. That deal was first announced in October 2024, but apparently was not finalized until now. Reaction will not only do a suborbital launch from the spaceport, it will invest about $1 million in the spaceport itself.
Whether this Nova Scotia spaceport finally begins operating remains to be seen. It has been promising orbital launches since 2016, without any actually happening.
Second, the Canadian rocket startup Nordspace announced that it has begun construction of its own launch site, dubbed the Atlantic Spaceport Complex, in Newfoundland.
The Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) is a cornerstone of NordSpace’s mission to deliver sovereign and assured space access for Canada through an end-to-end space missions capability. The initial $10M phase of development for the Atlantic Spaceport Complex will feature two sites. SLC-01 will feature two launch pads for orbital missions including NordSpace’s Tundra vehicle and international launch partners from the U.S. and Europe. SLC-02 will consist of at least one smaller launch pad for suborbital missions, radar systems for vehicle tracking and space domain awareness, and other ground support equipment to enable all launch operations at the ASX.
The company hopes to complete a suborbital launch with what it calls its Taiga rocket later this month.
Nordspace only announced its existence in July 2024, almost a decade after the Nova Scotia project. Yet it appears it will be first to complete a commercial suborbital launch. Nova Scotia did have a suborbital launch in 2023, but it was a student project, not a commercial rocket.