SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
Maritime Launch Services will tap into the federal governments Strategic Innovation Fund, a program which has seen very limited use this year.
According to the Strategic Innovation Fund website only one project in Canada has been funded this year to date. Last year 23 projects were funded.
In the case of Maritime Launch Services (MLS), they announced that had received a conditional term sheet from the Government of Canada. The term sheet is for a $12.9 million contribution. According to MLS, that contribution would be in the form of “project cost reimbursements and would be conditionally repayable.”
MLS also said “the term sheet is non-binding, and the proposed contribution is subject to operational and financial conditions that have not yet been met, approvals, and execution of a Contribution Agreement.”
It should be noted that funding through the Strategic Innovation Fund is another signal to investors that MLS is showing enough progress to warrant federal support. It also suggests that more private investment is expected.
The federal government funding would complement the $13.1 million the company received last September from the Province of Nova Scotia under the Capital Investment Tax Credit (CITC). The CITC “is a refundable corporate tax credit that can be claimed for capital costs directly related to acquiring qualified property for use in Nova Scotia as part of an approved project.”
MLS said the Strategic Innovation Fund would “position” the company “to complete the spaceport with a launch control center, a satellite integration facility, and a launch pad.” MLS reiterated that “Spaceport Nova Scotia will focus on supporting small class launch vehicles with total payloads not exceeding 1,250 kilograms initially, while growing the site to support medium class launchers.”
