Don’t look now, but there’s a space race ongoing in Canada. It’s a rocket race to see who can build and launch the first Canadian orbital launch vehicle.
It’s a race the public isn’t aware of yet, and neither are most of those people who work in the space sector, but could have a lasting effect on Canada’s space economy.
But first a spaceport
By now, a small percentage of the public have heard of Spaceport Nova Scotia, a project of Maritime Launch Services (MLS). Whoever wins the ‘rocket race’ will likely launch their vehicle from the MLS spaceport at some point.
The spaceport itself isn’t ready but with the news in September that MSL had cleared the last provincial hurdle related to their 2019 environmental assessment, heavy equipment has been spotted in the Canso community and road construction to the launch pad area has begun.
MLS CEO Steve Matier told ConstructConnect last week that ”staff are out there and we are working on the roads to get us out to the launch pad location.“
MLS also had some impactful news last week with the appointment to its board of directors of Sylvain Laporte, the recent past president of the Canadian Space Agency. Laporte who retired from a long government career in 2020 brings his experience and credibility to MLS right at the time the company is looking to raise another round of funding.
Rocket launch contenders
Let me stress here, it’s early days in Canada’s ’rocket race.’ Of the six entries I was going to mention, one of the startups has since pivoted its business. Of the other five known startups, a majority will fail. Rocket science isn’t easy, neither is building a successful startup. (And if you’re starting a space company you really need to read our ongoing entrepreneurial series.)
So who is in the running? In alphabetical order the companies currently in the race are; AVRO Aerospace, C6 Launch Systems, NordSpace, Reaction Dynamics, and SpaceRyde. Details on some of these companies is limited but here’s an introduction on each of them. Of note, for any of these to succeed they will need to raise more money.
AVRO Aerospace, Calgary (https://www.avro.aero) – Vladimir Mravcak is the CEO of Calgary based Atlantis Research Labs, a technology development company that’s been around for 16 years. AVRO Aerospace is a subsidiary created in 2021. They have been developing a ”novel propulsion system” and have been collaborating with the University of Calgary and have stated that they have tested their propulsion system (photo on the right). Few public details are available about their launch vehicle. The company did send some people to the Launch Canada Challenge this past summer. It’s too soon to say how seriously they can be taken. Mravcak however has allocated Atlantis Research Labs resources to the project, including personnel and access to its 40,000 sq. ft. workshop.
C6 Launch Systems, Toronto (https://www.c6launch.com | Our coverage) – C6 Launch Systems could be the first Canadian company to launch an orbital class launch vehicle. There is one problem though. While C6 Launch won’t have a made-in-Canada rocket engine, the primary problem is that they will likely launch from the UK or Brazil first.
C6 Launch has received a couple of space technology development contracts from the Canadian Space Agency. And they are developing technology for launch vehicles. Should the situation presents itself where they could launch from Canada, they would likely consider it. The main hurdle they face is regulatory. Current regulations preclude importing the American made engines by Ursa Major they are planning on using. Until such a time as Canada and the United States sign a Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA), C6 Launch will look elsewhere to launch from. Ironically, the United States has a long-standing TSA with Brazil and recent one with the UK. Regardless of where they launch from, C6 Launch has been making progress including building a test pad at SpacePort America and testing an engine there. In Brazil they’ve signed a couple of important agreements recently including for the development and use of a launch pad at the Alcantara spaceport.
NordSpace, Toronto (https://www.nordspace.ca) – Rahul Goel is the CEO of NordSpace which was founded this past April. He is also the CEO of the virtual conference hosting platform Pheedloop which has seen some success since its founding in 2015.
NordSpace plans to develop what they’re calling the Algonquin launch vehicle to deliver upwards of 300 kg to low Earth orbit and begin launching payloads as early as 2025. No details are available on the launch vehicle at this time. Not content with just developing a launch vehicle, the company also plans on developing “turn-key small-satellites,” autonomous robotic systems for the Moon and Mars, and an autonomous launch and landing system for stratospheric balloons.
Ambitious for sure, and where they are at in executing their business plan within five years is TBD, but I think it’s safe to say that realizing even one of their projects to commercial viability within that time-frame would be a big win. No details are publicly available on any of their technologies.
Reaction Dynamics (RDS), Greater Montreal (https://www.reactiondynamics.space | Our coverage) – Reaction Dynamics has garnered its fair share of media coverage in part due to some high-profile visits from local politicians and Lisa Campbell, president of the Canadian Space Agency. The company has been relatively quiet until earlier this year. It’s focus has been squarely on developing a new hybrid rocket engine, one which is uses a more environmentally friendly fuel, using a combination of liquid and solid fuel propulsion that will generate far less carbon dioxide . The new engine will be first used on their small-satellite class launch vehicle Aurora.
Assuming RDS’s current timeline holds, they plan on launching a suborbital test launch from Spaceport Nova Scotia sometime next year. The company has raised some capital and has been close to announcing its first round of significant funding for some time. Of all the current participants in the ‘space race’ now, they appear to be on the right from a technology perspective according to sources SpaceQ has spoke to.
SpaceRyde, Toronto (https://www.spaceryde.com | Our coverage) – SpaceRyde is an unconventional launch company in that they are developing a balloon launch system. While unconventional, the concept of launching from a balloon is sound. The question remains, can they make it work. They are banking on their ”smart rocket” Ryder, to analyze location data as it’s being carried to launch altitude by a stratospheric balloon. Once Ryder is dropped from the balloon, it will use the location data collected and calculate the optimal path to its orbital destination. It’s an elegant solution, and if it works they’ll be in good position to capture some customers. Another potential plus for SpaceRyde is that with their launch system, they aren’t necessarily tethered to a specific spaceport location. As long as they can get launch approval, they can launch from a variety of locations.
There are companies in other countries that are trying to launch from balloons as well. And the launch system is unconventional for a reason, simply put, no one has mastered balloon launches. SpaceRyde has an initial $10 million in funding. With that they’ve built up a team and have opened a ”rocket factory.”