Markham, Ont.-based NordSpace has broken ground on the site that will facilitate Canada’s first commercial space launch, which is planned for later this month in Newfoundland.
The Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX), which is also set to become Canada’s first operational commercial spaceport, is located just outside of the small town of St. Lawrence, Nfld., which is on the province’s southeastern coast and approximately 350 km away from St. John’s.
The $10-million initial development phase consists of two sites: SLC-01, which will feature two launch pads for orbital missions, and SLC-02, which will consist of at least one smaller launch pad for suborbital missions, radar systems, and other ground support equipment for the ASX’s launch operations.
Nordspace says the facility’s position offers launch inclinations between 46 to 100 degrees, meaning it can facilitate a wide range of satellite orbit types.
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“The Provincial Government is strongly supportive of NordSpace’s project, which will open the door in this province to a commercial space sector that is expected to be worth $40 to $50 billion in Canada,” Newfoundland and Labrador minister of industry Steve Crocker said in a statement.
NordSpace was featured in BetaKit’s Most Ambitious issue for its mission to facilitate Canada’s first commercial space launch. Despite Canada’s prestige for its status as the fourth nation in the world to launch a satellite, a pioneer in aerospace engineering, and the developer of the famous Canadarm, commercial launches are mostly outsourced to the United States.
The company is set to change that with its first launch window, opening on Aug. 25, when it will test its Taiga suborbital rocket powered by its proprietary 3D-printed Hadfield Mk III liquid rocket engine. The inaugural mission is named “Getting Screeched In”—an ode to the Newfoundland tradition that welcomes ‘mainlanders’ to the culture via a shot of rum, kissing a cod, and reciting local slang.
The timing of the site’s first launch is subject to possible road and power interruptions due to wildfires in the province, and will use temporary mobile infrastructure shipped in from Ontario, NordSpace CEO and founder Rahul Goel told BetaKit. Future launches will leverage the spaceport’s permanent infrastructure, which will be able to support much larger launch vehicles.
Goel has said he thinks his company will have “the most beautiful launch site in the entire world.”
“It’s amazing to be bringing this kind of energy to what is ordinarily a fishing town,” Goel said at the BetaKit Town Hall during Toronto Tech Week.” It’s not just Toronto being this tech hub, but extending it to the furthest reaches of this country.”
NordSpace also said it will quadruple the production capacity of its manufacturing facility in Markham by 2027, and open its fourth location in St. John’s to facilitate mission operations for the ASX.
Feature image courtesy NordSpace.