MDA Space said Friday it will start building digital antennas for the first 66 satellites of IRIS², the European Union’s planned secure-communications constellation. Its initial agreement with Thales Alenia Space is worth more than $100 million, and the satellites are due to launch in 2029.
Telesat pushed back the start of global service on its Lightspeed constellation by three months on Thursday, to the end of the second quarter of 2028, as it reported third-quarter results. Its shares fell 6.9 per cent that day and 6.1 per cent more on Friday, ending the week down 6.6 per cent at $55.84.
The SpaceQ Canadian Space Index fell 2.2 per cent to 93.08, its second weekly decline in a row, while the S&P/TSX Composite slipped 0.5 per cent. Baylin Technologies did most of the damage. Every company carries the same weight in the index, so Baylin’s 18.2 per cent drop counted for far more than Telesat’s and outweighed gains at Intermap Technologies, Maritime Launch Services and Magellan Aerospace. C-COM Satellite Systems was unchanged.
The SpaceQ Canadian Space Index is an editorial measure published by SpaceQ for journalistic purposes. It is not an investable index, not a financial benchmark, and nothing in it constitutes investment advice.
The board
| Company | Ticker | Close, Oct. 30 | Week | YTD | 52-week range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermap Technologies | IMP | $0.79 | +5.3% | -57.3% | 2% |
| Maritime Launch Services | MAXQ | $0.47 | +2.2% | +67.9% | 59% |
| Magellan Aerospace | MAL | $33.30 | +1.5% | +80.8% | 65% |
| C-COM Satellite Systems | CMI | $0.86 | +0.0% | +6.2% | 24% |
| 5N Plus | VNP | $25.93 | -1.2% | +46.3% | 28% |
| Calian Group | CGY | $82.98 | -1.6% | +51.0% | 80% |
| MDA Space | MDA | $38.00 | -1.7% | +42.6% | 36% |
| Telesat | TSAT | $55.84 | -6.6% | +41.1% | 44% |
| Baylin Technologies | BYL | $0.135 | -18.2% | -48.1% | 0% |
Telesat falls after Lightspeed delay
Telesat rose 5.0 per cent on Monday and 4.8 per cent on Tuesday, to $65.82, before the results. MDA Space is still assembling the first two Lightspeed satellites. They will now launch no earlier than June 2027 on another customer’s Falcon 9. Chief executive Dan Goldberg said the Arctic service for Canada’s military will still start at the end of the first quarter of 2028.
Telesat‘s geostationary subsidiary still owes about $2.4 billion in December, with the first payment due Dec. 6. Goldberg would not discuss a settlement proposal that the plaintiffs in the lenders’ lawsuit made Oct. 23. The shares are up 41.1 per cent this year.
MDA wins IRIS² antenna work
Canada and the EU agreed at their Montreal summit on Friday, the day MDA announced the deal, to start exploratory talks on IRIS².
MDA’s defence business, 49North, signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with UNWAVE, a Ukrainian counter-drone manufacturer, to work together on producing and supporting counter-drone systems. The companies gave no value or timeline.
MDA‘s shares fell 6.8 per cent on Friday, to $38.00, after climbing 6.4 per cent over Monday and Tuesday, and finished the week down 1.7 per cent. MDA reports third-quarter results Nov. 5, the same day the federal government unveils its budget.
5N Plus lost 7.8 per cent on Friday and Magellan Aerospace 5.5 per cent, a day the TSX Composite fell 1.7 per cent. 5N Plus finished the week down 1.2 per cent at $25.93 and reports third-quarter results after markets close Nov. 2. Magellan still ended up 1.5 per cent, at $33.30, and its 80.8 per cent gain this year is the best on the board. Calian Group fell 1.6 per cent to $82.98.
Baylin falls to another one-year low
Baylin Technologies fell three cents, or 18.2 per cent, to 13.5 cents, its lowest close of the past year for the second week running. The shares have lost 48.1 per cent since January.
Intermap Technologies gained four cents, or 5.3 per cent, to 79 cents, a week after its own lowest close of the past year, and is still down 57.3 per cent since January, the worst of the nine. Maritime Launch Services added a cent, or 2.2 per cent, to 47 cents, and C-COM Satellite Systems was unchanged at 86 cents.
Number of the week: $100 million
MDA Space values its initial agreement to build IRIS² antennas for Thales Alenia Space at more than this. It will add the work to its backlog in the fourth quarter while it negotiates the final contract.
NorthStar holds in New York
NorthStar Earth & Space edged up 0.3 per cent to $US 3.32 on NYSE American. It has until Nov. 30 to meet the conditions of its approval to list in Toronto.
SpaceX closes below its IPO price
SpaceX fell 8.7 per cent to $US 134.72, below the $US 135 price of its June initial public offering (IPO). Most of the drop came Friday, when the shares lost 6.4 per cent. SpaceQ reported Tuesday that Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri told analysts on Oct. 23 that SpaceX plans to offer its Starlink Mobile phone service in Canada through wireless carriers.
SpaceX said Monday it had a binding commitment for a finance lease of about $US 40 billion with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, which will buy Nvidia chips and related equipment and lease them to SpaceX for its data centres. Apollo and Goldman Sachs led the financing. SpaceX expects deliveries and lease payments to begin in the first half of 2027.
Boeing falls, L3Harris rises
Boeing reported third-quarter revenue of $US 24.2 billion on Tuesday, up 4 per cent. Sales in its Defense, Space & Security unit rose 15 per cent, to $US 7.9 billion. The shares fell 10.7 per cent that day and 8.9 per cent for the week.
L3Harris reported on Thursday, with revenue up 7 per cent to $US 6.1 billion and a record backlog of $US 53.2 billion, and raised its earnings forecast for the year. Its shares rose 6.8 per cent that day and 9.3 per cent for the week.
Viasat leads U.S. stocks
Viasat rose 25.3 per cent, the best among the 20 U.S. space companies SpaceQ tracks, including 11.3 per cent on Wednesday. That day, Viasat and Space42 signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada’s Terrestar Solutions to connect Terrestar’s planned CaStar constellation with Equatys, the direct-to-device venture the two companies co-founded.
Karman Holdings gained 9.0 per cent. It said Monday that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory had picked it to design and build the parachute deployment system for SkyFall, a mission to put three helicopters on Mars that is set to launch in 2028. Karman did not disclose the contract’s value. EchoStar rose 8.8 per cent.
AST SpaceMobile rose 3.0 per cent. Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, approved 30 MHz of S-band spectrum for AST’s planned satellite-to-phone service in the country, the company said Monday, and four regional carriers agreed to let it use part of their 700 MHz airwaves.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved Amazon’s purchase of Globalstar on Tuesday, and Amazon expects to close the deal in 2027. MDA Space is building Globalstar’s replacement satellites, and the first eight reached orbit in August. Amazon’s price falls by as much as $US 110 million if those satellites miss operational milestones. Globalstar slipped 0.3 per cent.
Virgin Galactic rose 4.9 per cent. It unveiled Apeiron, the first of its Delta-class spaceships, on Wednesday and flew it to Spaceport America in New Mexico to start preparing for flight tests. It also moved the first commercial flight to early in the second quarter of 2027, from February.
Satellogic fell 13.3 per cent, the steepest U.S. decline, though it is still up 77.5 per cent this year. On Thursday it signed a three-year agreement to let HEO use its satellites to photograph other spacecraft in orbit, with a minimum commitment in the seven figures for each year through 2029. Momentus lost 9.8 per cent.
The Procure Space ETF gained 1.0 per cent while the S&P 500 slipped 0.6 per cent, and 13 of the 20 U.S. companies rose.
Voyager reports quarterly results Nov. 2, Redwire Nov. 4, and BlackSky, Karman and Viasat Nov. 5.
International roundup: Synspective jumps
Synspective rose 17.8 per cent in Tokyo to 1,358 yen, about $12.04. Astroscale gained 8.9 per cent to 1,125 yen, about $9.98. On Wednesday, Astroscale said its British subsidiary will lead LEDA, a £15-million Ministry of Defence program, about $28 million, to build and fly a spacecraft, with BAE Systems and Open Cosmos as partners. The ministry said LEDA will look at how spacecraft could counter threats from satellites that manoeuvre close to others. The same day, Astroscale signed a memorandum of understanding with OHB to look for joint work in space security and servicing satellites in orbit.
OHB rose 10.6 per cent on Wednesday and finished the week up 8.2 per cent at €224, about $349, its third weekly gain in a row. Lunar-lander developer ispace fell 1.1 per cent to 370 yen, about $3.28.
Eutelsat fell 10.5 per cent on Friday, the day after it reported first-quarter revenue of €286 million, down 0.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Revenue from its low Earth orbit network rose 30.1 per cent, and it added €8.9 billion of IRIS² construction work to its backlog. The shares still ended the week up 1.8 per cent, at €1.80, about $2.81.
SES rose 5.6 per cent to €4.18, about $6.52. On Tuesday it extended its satellite TV agreement with CANAL+ through 2040, covering capacity across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Avio gained 3.9 per cent to €31.81, about $49.59.
Innospace, the South Korean rocket developer listed on the KOSDAQ, fell 0.9 per cent to 4,905 won, about $5.14. Seraphim Space Investment Trust rose 0.8 per cent to £1.75, about $3.27. Canadian-dollar equivalents use Friday’s exchange rates.
The SpaceQ Canadian Space Index is an equal-weighted editorial measure of Canada’s publicly traded space-economy companies, with a base of 100.00 at the close of Sept. 4, 2026. Full methodology (v1.0). The SpaceQ Canadian Space Index is an editorial measure published by SpaceQ for journalistic purposes. It is not an investable index, not a financial benchmark, and nothing in it constitutes investment advice.
Source: Yahoo Finance Canada. Figures are as of the close of Oct. 30, 2026. NSTR figures are from Yahoo Finance.