The Rise of Domestic Launch in Canada

Canada’s New Space Race

For decades, Canada has been a significant and respected partner in international space exploration. The country’s expertise in robotics, exemplified by the Canadarm series, and its leadership in satellite communications and Earth observation have secured its place among the stars. Canadian-built satellites monitor global climate, manage resources, and connect remote communities. Yet, despite this deep heritage, Canada has always relied on foreign partners, primarily the United States, Europe, and Russia, for the one piece of the puzzle it never had: sovereign launch.

This dependency has long been a strategic gap. Canadian companies and government agencies needing to place assets in orbit have had to join long queues and pay high prices to foreign launch providers. This not only represents a significant economic outflow but also a lack of strategic autonomy. In a world where access to space is increasingly tied to economic prosperity and national security, the ability to launch one’s own satellites, on one’s own schedule, is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity.

Now, a new chapter in Canada’s space story is being written, and it’s being backed by serious national investment. A dynamic and growing ecosystem of private companies, supported by a new government regulatory framework and a major new defence fund, is racing to establish a domestic launch industry. From competing spaceports taking shape on the rocky coasts of Atlantic Canada to innovative startups developing next-generation rocket engines, the “NewSpace” era has firmly arrived in the Great White North. This article explores the companies, technologies, and strategic drivers shaping Canada’s quest for the stars.

The Strategic Imperative for Canadian Launch

The push for a Canadian launch capability isn’t driven by national pride alone. It’s a response to powerful economic, strategic, and technological forces. The global space economy is booming, and the most dramatic growth is in the small satellite (smallsat) sector.

Economic Drivers

Canada is a world leader in building and operating satellites. Companies like MDA are globally renowned for advanced radar satellites, while Telesat is a legacy operator now building a state-of-the-art Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications constellation. Other innovators, like Montreal’s GHGSat, have created a new market for high-resolution greenhouse gas monitoring from space.

All these companies share a common bottleneck: launch. They must contract with foreign providers to get their multi-million dollar assets into orbit. This process can be slow, expensive, and subject to delays that are out of their control. A “ride-share” mission, where a large rocket carries dozens of small satellites, might offer a lower price but gives the customer little to no control over the schedule or the final orbit.

A domestic launch industry would change this equation. It would allow a Canadian satellite manufacturer to offer a “one-stop-shop” service to an international client: build the satellite, test it, and launch it, all from within Canada. This vertical integration would create immense value, capture revenue that currently flows abroad, and make the Canadian space sector more competitive on the global stage. It would also stimulate a high-tech supply chain, creating jobs for engineers, technicians, and software developers across the country.

National Security and Sovereignty

Sovereign access to space is a cornerstone of modern national security. The Canadian Armed Forces and security agencies rely heavily on satellites for secure communications, navigation, and surveillance. This is especially true in the Arctic, a region of immense strategic importance to Canada.

Satellites are the only effective means to monitor this vast, remote territory for illegal shipping, environmental changes, and foreign military activity. Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) has identified “responsive launch” as a key future capability. This is the ability to launch a satellite on short notice, perhaps to replace a damaged asset in orbit or to provide urgent surveillance of a crisis area. This capability is impossible without a domestic launch site and ready-to-fly vehicles.

This strategic gap was formally recognized in 2025. The federal budget earmarked $182.6 million over three years for the Department of National Defence to “establish a sovereign space launch capability.” This new funding signals a major shift, moving domestic launch from a commercial ambition to a declared national strategic priority.

The Regulatory Landscape

None of this private-sector activity would be possible without a clear set of rules. For years, the lack of a modern regulatory framework for commercial launch was a major hurdle. Recognizing this, the Canadian government empowered Transport Canada, the nation’s transportation regulator, to develop the necessary policies.

After extensive consultation, new regulations under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and Aeronautics Act were established. These rules govern the safety of launch operations, the financial responsibility of operators, and the environmental impact of launch sites. This legal certainty was the “starting gun” the industry was waiting for. It provided a clear, predictable path for companies to move from blueprints and business plans to concrete and steel.

The Atlantic Race: Two Ports, Two Visions

The push for a Canadian launch pad is now centered on two rival projects in Atlantic Canada, each with a different business model but a shared goal: to be the first to reach orbit from Canadian soil.

The Nova Scotia Hub: Maritime Launch Services

Perhaps the most developed sign of Canada’s space ambitions is rising from a windswept stretch of coastline near Canso, Nova Scotia. This is the site of Spaceport Nova Scotia, a commercial launch complex developed by Maritime Launch Services (MLS).

The Canso location is one of the most geographically advantageous sites in North America for a specific, and highly valuable, type of orbit. To launch a satellite into a polar or Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a rocket must fly south. A Sun-synchronous orbit is particularly sought-after for Earth observation satellites, as it means the satellite passes over any given point on Earth at the same local solar time. From Canso, a rocket can launch south over the Atlantic Ocean, with no populated areas at risk.

The MLS business model is that of a “multi-user” spaceport. They are building the infrastructure – the launch pad, control center, and payload processing facilities – and offering it to clients. In 2025, MLS secured major strategic investments from Canadian aerospace giant MDA and from Export Development Canada, signaling confidence in their plan.

The company’s original strategy involved a partnership to launch the Ukrainian-built Cyclone-4M rocket. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine created serious disruptions to that plan, forcing MLS to pivot. The company has done so successfully, re-establishing itself as a launch pad for a new generation of rocket builders.

This new direction is already in motion. In November 2025, MLS is scheduled to conduct its second suborbital launch, this time for the Dutch company T-Minus Engineering. This mission, using a “Barracuda” rocket, is intended to be the first from Canada to cross the Kármán line, the conceptual boundary of space, while reaching hypersonic speeds of Mach 6.

More significant for Canada‘s sovereign goals, MLS signed a “pathfinder agreement” in August 2025 with Reaction Dynamics, a Canadian rocket builder. This deal paves the way for the first-ever orbital launch of a Canadian-designed and built rocket from Canadian soil, solidifying Spaceport Nova Scotia as a critical piece of national infrastructure.

The Newfoundland Challenger: NordSpace

Competing with the Nova Scotia project is a new, ambitious, and vertically integrated company: NordSpace. Founded in 2022, NordSpace is not just building a spaceport; it’s also building its own rockets, engines, and satellites, all in-house.

This “full spectrum” approach is taking shape in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador, the site of the company’s proposed “Atlantic Spaceport Complex.” From here, NordSpace plans to fly its own family of launch vehicles.

The company’s technology is focused on 3D-printed, liquid-fueled rocket engines, which they’ve named after Canadian astronauts. Their “Hadfield” engine, which uses kerosene and liquid oxygen, powers their “Taiga” suborbital rocket. NordSpace conducted launch attempts for the Taiga rocket in August and September 2025. While these were scrubbed due to technical and weather issues, the campaigns provided valuable data and demonstrated the company’s rapid progress.

The ultimate goal for NordSpace is its “Tundra” orbital rocket, a larger vehicle designed to lift payloads of up to 500 kilograms to Low Earth Orbit. By controlling the launch pad and the rocket, NordSpace aims to offer a complete, end-to-end Canadian service, directly competing for the same pool of commercial satellite customers and new government contracts.

The Innovators: Building Canadian Rockets

While the spaceports provide the gateway, a new generation of Canadian companies is focused on building the vehicles themselves.

Reaction Dynamics

Based in Quebec, Reaction Dynamics (RDX) is taking a novel approach to rocket propulsion. The company is developing an advanced hybrid rocket engine, which combines a solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer.

Hybrid engines promise significant advantages. The fuel, often a solid polymer, is inert and non-explosive, making it much safer to handle and transport than highly volatile rocket fuels. This safety is a key part of the Reaction Dynamics value proposition. Their “REACT” engine technology has passed major milestones, including the successful completion of development testing for their regeneratively-cooled engine design in September 2025.

The company’s “Aurora” family of rockets includes a suborbital test vehicle and the “Aurora-8,” their orbital-class launcher. As part of their new agreement with Maritime Launch Services, Reaction Dynamics is targeting its first orbital launch attempt from Spaceport Nova Scotia around 2028. This partnership is a landmark moment, pairing a Canadian-built rocket with a Canadian-built launch site.

Other Players in the Ecosystem

While MLS, NordSpace, and Reaction Dynamics are leading the charge, they are not alone. A healthy ecosystem is broader than just the rocket companies.

• University Teams: Groups like “Waterloo Rocketry” and “Space Concordia” are vital. They compete in international rocketry competitions, pushing the boundaries of student-led engineering and, most importantly, providing a steady stream of experienced, passionate graduates who go on to work for these new launch companies.
• The Supply Chain: A rocket is made of thousands of components. Companies specializing in avionics (the rocket’s electronic brain), lightweight composite structures, ground support equipment, and flight software are all emerging to support the primary launch providers. This “under-the-hood” industry is essential for the long-term health and self-sufficiency of the Canadian launch sector.

The table below summarizes the different approaches of the main Canadian launch-focused entities:

The Ecosystem: Government as the Anchor Customer

Building a rocket and launching it into orbit is one of the most difficult engineering challenges humanity has ever undertaken. The path for these Canadian companies is steep and fraught with obstacles, but a critical one – funding – has just been addressed.

Access to Capital

Rockets are, as the saying goes, “eating capital.” The research, development, testing, and infrastructure required to build a launch vehicle costs hundreds of millions of dollars. This has been a significant challenge in the Canadian venture capital (VC) market, which is traditionally more conservative than its Silicon Valley counterpart.

While private investments, like MDA’s in MLS, are important, the industry has been waiting for a more powerful signal. That signal arrived with the 2025 federal budget. The $182.6 million commitment from the Department of National Defence is not just a grant; it is the government stepping up to be the “anchor customer.”

The Power of Procurement

This new fund is the most powerful tool the government has. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), DRDC, and other departments are all large-scale users of satellite data, with a pipeline of future missions like WildFireSat and RADARSAT+ that will all need a ride to orbit.

By committing to purchase launches from Canadian providers, the government provides a stable, predictable revenue stream. This “bankable” contract de-risks the companies in the eyes of private investors, unlocking the capital needed to complete development. It sends a clear signal to the market that Canada is serious about this industry.

This is the model that worked so successfully in the United States. It wasn’t just Elon Musk’s vision; it was multi-billion dollar cargo and crew contracts that provided the foundation for success. The new Canadian defence fund creates a similar dynamic, setting up a productive race between the MLS/Reaction Dynamics partnership and the vertically-integrated NordSpace to see who can be the first to meet this new, and well-funded, national demand.

Summary

Canada is at a pivotal moment in its long and proud history in space. After decades as a key partner and user of space, it is finally making a serious, and well-funded, bid to become a full-cycle participant with its own launch capability. The journey is just beginning, but the landscape is clearer and more promising than ever.

The industry is no longer purely speculative. It is now a national strategic priority, backed by hundreds of millions in federal funding. The emerging sector is defined by a fascinating and healthy competition. In Nova Scotia, Maritime Launch Services has successfully pivoted to a multi-user spaceport model, securing a key Canadian rocket builder, Reaction Dynamics, as its anchor orbital client. At the same time, NordSpace in Newfoundland is pursuing a bold, vertically-integrated model, building both its own rockets and its own launch pad.

The next few years will be telling. As suborbital test flights give way to orbital attempts, the true contenders will emerge. The success of this new industry will depend on engineering brilliance and entrepreneurial drive, but it is now built on a firm foundation of government commitment. If these elements continue to align, the sight of a rocket ascending from Canadian soil won’t just be a technological milestone; it will be the launch of a new, powerful, and strategic sector of the Canadian economy.

This video from CBC News, updated in August 2025, features interviews with the CEOs of both NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics and shows footage of their hardware.