Canada signed a 10-year, C$20 million agreement with NordSpace for access to the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Department of National Defence announced on October 21, 2026. The sovereign launch agreement provides the Canadian Armed Forces and partners with access for launch and research activities. Canada also announced that it had become a full member of NATO’s STARLIFT initiative.
STARLIFT aims to connect allied launch capabilities so that participating countries can deploy space assets at short notice. Canada’s October announcement changes its stated participation status: the government had announced an intention to join in March. Membership concerns cooperation among allied launch providers and spaceports; the NordSpace agreement concerns access to a particular Canadian site.
The new arrangement follows a separate Maritime Launch Services agreement, announced March 16. That 10-year, C$200 million lease covers a dedicated launch pad near Canso, Nova Scotia. The government said the facility would serve defense and other federal users, with additional access for allies and partners. The lease requires an initial operational capability by the end of 2026 and requires 90% of the company’s lease receipts to be spent in Canada.
These agreements address the infrastructure needed to conduct missions. Canada is separately funding launch-vehicle development through the C$105 million Launch the North contest. In March, NordSpace, Canada Rocket Company, and Reaction Dynamics each received conditional approval for C$8.3 million in first-round funding. The contest targets an initial Canadian light-lift launch capability in 2028.
At the Atlantic Spaceport Complex, construction has a defined sequence. NordSpace’s Phase 2 construction announcement describes work beginning with a six-kilometer road to the planned orbital launch area. The company targets completion of this civil-construction phase in spring 2027 and an orbital launch no earlier than 2028.
New Space Economy’s account of the spaceport construction plan explains the connection between road access and launch operations. Vehicles, support equipment, and personnel must move between integration facilities, storage areas, and launch pads. Planned site systems include mission control, propellant storage, communications stations, and vehicle integration buildings.
The October agreement establishes a government access arrangement as that physical infrastructure develops. Its practical role is to connect future Canadian military missions with a domestic launch location, alongside the Nova Scotia lease and Canada’s participation in allied launch coordination.
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