Maritime Launch Cleared To Start Construction On Canso Spaceport
HALIFAX — The company that plans to launch rockets from Canso, Nova Scotia has approval to start building Canada’s first commercial spaceport.
Maritime Launch Services (MLS) says it has satisfied the construction-related conditions laid out in an enviornmental assessment the Nova Scotia government granted it. That means the company can officially start building “Spaceport Nova Scotia.”
MLS was founded in 2016 and has planned to build a spaceport in Canso since 2017. The company had initially planned for its first launch to happen in 2019 but has pushed that date several times.
Twenty-nineteen was the same year the company cleared its environmental assessment from the provincial government. The provinces said it believed Maritime Launch could mitigate the environmental effects of its operations if it took specific measures.
Once it’s complete, Spaceport Nova Scotia will use rockets about a third the height of a wind turbine (about 39 metres) to launch satellites into space for commercial companies.
The rockets will be able to carry about five tons’ worth of satellites into low-earth orbit. MLS CEO Stephen Matier has told Huddle the company will serve “the constellation market”— essentially laying a string of small, interconnected satellites around Earth.
Matier has said Canso is one of the best locations in the world for launching satellites into low-earth orbit. Spaceport Nova Scotia will be one of the only fully commercial launch operations in the world.
The launch facility will be built on about 335 acres of crown land, which the company has leased for 20 years. The lease includes an option for a 20-year renewal based on compliance with terms and conditions.
MLS says geotechnical exploratory work at the site is now complete and it is starting active construction.
RELATED: N.S. Spaceport Ramps Up, Hires Several Local Companies Ahead Of Construction
The company says construction will bring temporary trades jobs to the region. However, Matier argues the spaceport will also establish Nova Scotia as a major player in the commercial space industry.
As Matier pointed out, MLS’s Canso spaceport will be one of the only fully commercial launch operations in the world.
“If you were to look around the globe right now at the launch sites that are out there, almost all of them at some level or other are government-owned and controlled,” he said. “We’re a commercial initiative and we have a commercial offering — and I think that’s the real game-changer.”
“It’s about really, you know, bootstrapping a new industry that’s just been budding here in Nova Scotia,” he added.
The potential for the industry in Nova Scotia was on display last year when a slate of international industry heads met at the Halifax International Security Forum to hammer out agreements related to the spaceport.
RELATED: Canso Spaceport Announces First Customer, Plans To Launch In 2023
Lisa Campbell, the president of the Canadian Space Agency, reiterated the potential economic impact the commercial space industry represents in Canada.
“The fast-growing space economy is creating so many exciting opportunities for Canadian and international researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors. And what we’re seeing today is more access to space for Canada,” she said.
At the Forum, MLS announced it has signed an agreement with Nanoracks to launch a cluster of small satellites into space for the company in 2023.
Trevor Nichols is the associate editor of Huddle, based in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].