Montreal-based NorthStar Earth & Space has officially filed its F-4 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing is an important step in its proposed $300 million USD merger with special purpose acquisition company Viking Acquisition Corp. I (NYSE: VACI).
While today’s press release highlights a planned Q3 2026 debut on the New York Stock Exchange alongside a pursued dual-listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the 600-plus page document outlines the operational and financial realities of building a space domain awareness (SDA) constellation.
The foundation of NorthStar’s platform is its “always-on” system architecture. The platform acts as a source-agnostic data pipeline, fusing observations from its own space-based optical sensors with third-party ground radar and radio-frequency tracking. This allows the company to monitor active orbital threats in real-time.
But this capability relies on a “hosted-payload” model, where NorthStar builds the sensors but depends on third-party satellite buses to reach orbit. The F-4 highlights the risks of this approach, revealing an ongoing commercial arbitration with Spire Global, Inc.
NorthStar alleges Spire failed to properly operate three of its four initial host satellites, leading to a $10.2 million CAD impairment charge in 2024 for missed daily image quotas. A tribunal decision is expected in Q2 2026. As the filing notes, replacing an underperforming host operator from scratch can take 12 to 24 months.
Consequently, NorthStar’s launch roadmap has shifted. The next sensor deployment phase is now targeted for late 2027 or early 2028. The company acknowledges that significant launch failures during this expansion could cause multi-year delays and potentially trigger customer terminations.
Moving forward, NorthStar aims to meet performance metrics by focusing on optimizing “revisit rates” (how quickly they can re-observe objects in space). They plan to achieve this through a hybrid of space- and ground-based data fusion, while securing reliable launch and hosting providers for their next generation of sensors.
The financial disclosures also highlight the current state of the commercial market for SDA services. The filing describes this market as “nascent and is not yet characterized by predictable, recurring demand.”
As a result, NorthStar’s revenue is currently entirely dependent on the public sector. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, 100% of the company’s $2.6 million CAD in revenue came from government agencies and other public-sector customers.
Furthermore, their top three customers accounted for 69% of that total revenue.
This heavy reliance on government spending highlights the significance of NorthStar’s most recent major contract. Just last week, the company was awarded a $40 million CAD agreement to supply the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) 3 Canadian Space Division with space surveillance data over the next 12 months.
The deal provides the RCAF with accurate, Canadian-controlled data to monitor the skies and secure national interests, cementing the defence sector as the cornerstone of NorthStar’s growth strategy.
Looking at the bigger picture, the company generated $10.6 million CAD in total services revenue in 2025. As of March 31, 2026, it reported an accumulated deficit of $211.6 million CAD.
The filing also notes a need to strengthen their internal financial reporting controls as they transition into a heavily regulated public company.
To fund its future growth, NorthStar is securing $30 million USD from private investors as part of the merger. The deal heavily incentivizes NorthStar’s management to rapidly scale the business over the next three years. They can earn up to 10 million additional shares if the company hits aggressive revenue targets, culminating in a goal of $100 million USD in annual revenue by 2029.