NordSpace Corp. has begun construction at its Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in Newfoundland and Labrador as it seeks to send a suborbital launch aloft no earlier than (NET) Aug. 25.
Astute readers will notice that NordSpace has changed the name of its spaceport. The name Spaceport Canada, which NordSpace has been using publicly since early this year is a trademark owned by another company. In fact the name has been registered and abandoned a few times, going back as far as 1992. The current registration dates back to 2022 and is now owned by Maritime Launch Services. NordSpace in June of this year trademarked Atlantic Spaceport Complex.
The company is vying to create Canada’s first operational commercial spaceport, with aims to contribute to Canada’s sovereign work in space. The location of the construction is in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, which is nearly four hours southwest of St. John’s by car.
Space Launch Complex 02 (SLC-02), where groundbreaking was established, is meant to support suborbital missions as well as radar systems for “vehicle tracking and space domain awareness,” NordSpace said in a statement.
NordSpace also plans to send its Taiga suborbital rocket to space NET Aug. 25. In a nod to Newfoundland culture, the mission is nicknamed “Getting Screeched In”; traditionally this refers to a welcoming ceremony involving rum, reciting a poem and kissing a cod (or a similar kind of fish).
“The start of construction at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex is a historic moment for Canada. This is not just about building a launch site; it’s about building a future where Canada leads in space exploration, innovation, and security,” Rahul Goel, NordSpace’s CEO and founder, said in the statement.
“The ASX is critical national infrastructure that will unlock assured access to space, ensuring our sovereignty and fostering economic growth for generations. We are committed to making the vision of a true sovereign end-to-end space mission capability a reality.”
First rocket flights are always a risk, but NordSpace noted that Taiga has passed several key tests: an integrated rocket test on Jan. 6, as well as a month-long engine qualification campaign for the Hadfield Mk III engine in July. NordSpace ran the engine tests at a location in northeastern Ontario, also seeking to prove out rapid refurbishment and turnaround with an eye to quick turnarounds during future launch operations.
NordSpace eventually plans two launch areas under a $10 million development phase. Aside from SLC-02, another zone known as SLC-01 will support flights of the Tundra orbital launch rocket, and hoped-for international launches from the U.S. and Europe, using two launch pads.
Flights can take place to orbital inclinations between 46 and 100 degrees, spanning equatorial to polar. It is a remote location facing onto water – in this case, the Atlantic Ocean – which is typical of most global spaceports.
The spaceport, to be sure, is still in a very junior phase. But NordSpace says it has been gathering support from key partners for licencing and other requirements from Transport Canada, NAV Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Department of National Defence. NordSpace claims that if the spaceport goes to plan, it will generate 650 highly qualified jobs and $2.5 billion in economic development in the next 10 years.
Newfoundland’s provincial government thanked NordSpace for its efforts, in the same statement. “The provincial government is strongly supportive of NordSpace’s project, which will open the door in this province to a commercial space sector that is expected to be worth $40 [billion] to $50 billion in Canada,” Steve Crocker, the province’s minister of industry, energy and technology, stated. “This will bring more highly skilled, well-paid jobs to our province, and the great awe and inspiration that space travel evokes in us all.”
NordSpace’s planned program includes hypersonic defence and research missions, in line with Canada’s recent pivot on defence activities. The program is called SHARP (Supersonic and Hypersonic Applications Research Platform), which includes Arrow, Sabre, and M2S-HyRock vehicles.
To support launches, NordSpace plans to quadruple production capacity in 2027 at its manufacturing facility in Markham, Ont., where expansion is underway. Another company location will open in St. John’s for mission operations.
Separately, NordSpace plans to launch its first satellite – Terra Nova – in 2026 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter 17 rideshare mission. The Athena small satellite bus includes an Edge-AI imaging system called Chronos-AI, and a proprietary electric propulsion system called Zephyr-EP.
NordSpace is not alone in trying to seek space launches in Canada. Maritime Launch Services plans to host two hypersonic launches at Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canso in October, using an existing small launch vehicle pad. The spaceport also hosted a suborbital launch in 2023, which met most of its mission objectives. Canso is also on the Atlantic Ocean and is a little over three hours from Halifax.
It is unclear, however, to what extent Canada’s Department of National Defence plans to use any spaceport in Canada in the near future. Back in January, a DND spokesperson told The Ottawa Citizen that the department and the Canadian Armed Forces “has not provided any funding for Maritime Launch, nor has it committed to using its capabilities in the future.”
Some recent community newspaper reports have also noted some members of the Canso area having economic, as well as health and safety, concerns concerning MLS activities. Stephen Matier, president and CEO of Maritime Launch, has said many times publicly that he has solicited support from the community as well as funding for the work, including a $10.5 million tax credit for an additional small launcher launch pad in June.
Space Concordia, a student club at Concordia University in Montreal, also announced this month that it plans to send its Starsailor rocket at least 100 km up from a site north of Mistassini Lake, Quebec. The launch is expected NET Aug. 15, making it the first launch from Quebec. Transport Canada authorized the launch, which is taking place from territory held by the Cree Nation of Mistissini under a cultural partnership with the group.
For more context on Canada’s suborbital and orbital launch activities, as well as the market demand for these activities, read the SpaceQ article from April 2025 asking how many spaceports Canada needs.
Update: SpaceQ has learned that NordSpace has received a one-time waiver for its suborbital launch which is expected not to reach above 10k.