Maritime Launch Services Inc. (MLSI) recently provided an update to stakeholders that included news about initial roadwork to allow the Spaceport Nova Scotia design team with soil and rock data. The roadwork is one of several new developments the company announced.
Geotechnical work begins
With respect to the roadwork for Spaceport Nova Scotia, MLSI said “We are also pleased to share that we are making progress on the site of Spaceport Nova Scotia. We are continuing our facility design which is being supported by the geotechnical work that began on the Crown land on May 12th. The Letter of Authority we received from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables allows us to make these initial roads to gather soil and rock data for our design team, and will support the drilling of test wells for the water we need for our site.”
Rolf Brandt hired as Director of Spaceport Operations
The company also announced that it had hired 35 year aerospace veteran Rolf Brandt as Director of Spaceport Operations. Brandt’s responsibilities will include overseeing “the development of Spaceport Nova Scotia ensuring operational adherence and regulatory compliance with Transport Canada, NAV Canada, and other involved regulators.”
According to MLSI Brandt has worked in both the aerospace defence and private industry most recently working for Swiss Space Systems (S3) in Canada and before that as Flight Operations Manager for Serco in Goose Bay. In his career Brandt started “out in the German Air Force flying the Tornado combat aircraft as Instructor Weapon System Operator in Germany and abroad. This included several postings to Canada, the US, and various European countries. In his last military position, Rolf was the Senior Operations Officer for the GAF Training Center in Holloman AFB, NM, responsible for successful and efficient training of over 100 Tornado Pilots and Weapon System Operators.”
An update on Ukraine partners
MLSI states that work continues in Ukraine by Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash despite the ongoing war. MLSI stated that “The Cyclone 4M upper stage has been completed and fully qualified for flight and the first stage engine upgrade is ongoing.”
They also said they had signed a “Letter of Intent with the State Space Agency of Ukraine to work towards opportunities to launch their government satellites.”
Other launch vehicles
In its new phased approach to developing Spaceport Nova Scotia, MLSI announced on May 4th that Quebec based Reaction Dynamics (RDX) with its small satellite Aurora launch vehicle would be the first customer to use the spaceport with a hoped for suborbital test launch in the latter half of 2023. The infrastructure needed to launch RDX Aurora is considerably less than larger rockets.
The Ukrainian medium-lift Cyclone-4M is still planned as the workhorse for the spaceport, but won’t be launched until 2024 at the earliest.
The company also stated that they are finalizing the selection of another launch vehicle, the third that would commit to using the spaceport. MLSI said they are in negotiations with several companies.
CANSEC appearance
MLSI recently participated in CANSEC with the support of the Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association. They said they met with several stakeholders including National Defense Canada, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Thales, ViaSat and others.
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