Maritime Launch Services Ltd., based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has partnered with a German aerospace firm, Isar Aerospace, to potentially conduct orbital launches by 2028 at the company’s proposed commercial rocket launch pad near Canso, Nova Scotia, on the Eastern Shore.
The collaboration aims to establish a dedicated complex for Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, designed for launching small and medium-size satellites into space. Isar Aerospace has already set up a launch site in Norway and has now formed a new Canadian subsidiary, Isar Aerospace Canada Inc.
According to Alexandre Dalloneau, Isar Aerospace’s Vice President of Mission and Launch Operations, the lack of independent launch capacity poses a significant challenge for nations requiring space data access. Isar Aerospace aims to address this bottleneck by providing end-to-end launch capability to sovereign nations, with Canada being the next step in their strategic roadmap.
Canada’s reliance on the United States for satellite launches is set to change with the government’s recent initiatives. Ottawa identified space launches as a critical sovereign capability in its defense industrial strategy and allocated $183 million over three years in the 2025 budget to establish space launch capabilities independently.
Maritime Launch’s project, Spaceport Nova Scotia, is anticipated to become Canada’s first operational commercial launch pad, catering to commercial, civil, and defense clients. Isar Aerospace plans to invest approximately $100 million to prepare the launch pad as a tenant, with construction expected to commence this year. The goal is to conduct space launches by 2028 and ramp up to 40 launches annually by 2029 under a 10-year agreement that will see Isar pay Maritime Launch $3.75 million US per fiscal quarter once operational.
The agreement between Maritime Launch and Isar Aerospace was signed during a NATO defense industry summit in Turkey. Maritime Launch’s CEO, Stephen Matier, highlighted the collaborative efforts among NATO-allied countries through projects like NATO Starlift, which aims to facilitate space payload launches on short notice for allied nations.
Matier emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the space industry, citing the present deal with Isar Aerospace as a prime example of such collaboration. He noted that three out of the four launch pads allocated in the company’s development phase are already assigned to Isar, the federal government, and Montreal-based aerospace company Reaction Dynamics, with discussions ongoing for the remaining pad while keeping another pad reserved for future development.