For the longest time, Canada has relied on other nations\u2019 rockets to send its satellites into orbit \u2014 a system so reliable that many have forgotten it wasn\u2019t always this way.<\/p>\n
In 1999, as we were developing the RADARSAT-2, the earth observation satellite\u2019s advanced capability raised eyebrows south of the border. It was so good, the Americans refused to launch it, saying its high-precision imaging ability to see through clouds and darkness posed national security concerns.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until 2007 that Canada finally launched the RADARSAT-2 into low Earth orbit aboard a Russian rocket from Kazakhstan. It continues to circle the earth today, an unyielding sentinel watching over the nation.<\/p>\n
This is an example of why Canada needs the sovereign capability to launch its own rockets into orbit \u2014 an issue that\u2019s becoming more pressing in today\u2019s geopolitics, said Andrea Harrington, co-director of the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University.<\/p>\n
As early as April 1, Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to travel to the moon\u2019s vicinity, joining four NASA astronauts on Artemis II.<\/p>\n
But Canada remains the only G7 country without a space launch capability despite its storied history as a space pioneer. (France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. have access to the launch system through the European Space Agency.)<\/p>\n
That could change soon, thanks to Ottawa\u2019s $183-million pledge to build a domestic launch capability announced in the fall budget. Last week, the federal government awarded nearly $25 million to three Canadian rocket startups to develop the initial ability to reach orbit by 2028, along with a $200-million contract to a Canadian spaceport for a launch pad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly encouraging. With the defence industrial strategy identifying orbital launch as a key sovereign capability, this is what making that real looks like,\u201d said Alex MacDonald, a Canadian who served as a former chief economist at NASA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a really good place.\u201d<\/p>\n
A high-stakes race<\/p>\n
When Bachar Elzein founded Canada\u2019s first rocket company, Reaction Dynamics, in Montreal in 2017, he said he couldn\u2019t get a loan from the bank because he was working on a defence startup.<\/p>\n
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Bachar Elzein, CEO of the Canadian rocket company Reaction Dynamics, has developed a rocket powered by a rare hybrid engine, which the company plans to launch to suborbital space from Australia this year.<\/p>\n
Lance McMillan\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n
Breaking with the norm of conventional liquid and solid engines, Elzein\u2019s team developed a hybrid rocket engine capable of sustaining peak efficiency long enough to reach space \u2014 a problem that had stumped engineers for decades.<\/p>\n
The company, which has raised $45 million so far, was in the research and development stage until three years ago, when it finally had the team to start building its Aurora-8 rocket, aimed to offer rapid launch for small satellites under 200 kilograms.<\/p>\n
Then came the government\u2019s announcement last fall, upending the landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really impressed to see that the support was overt and \u2026 really ambitious,\u201d said Elzein, noting that he has since seen a strong uptick in interest from investors and suppliers. \u201cI think we\u2019ve needed that in the country for the longest time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reaction Dynamics is in a space race with two other domestic rocket companies: NordSpace, founded in 2022, and Canadian Rocket Company, which raised $6.2 million of seed round funding in January.<\/p>\n
Rahul Goel, founder of NordSpace, told the Star that the government made the right move by sending \u201cclear signals\u201d to markets and talent that launch capability is a top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had both the feeling of gratitude \u2026 but also a tremendous feeling of responsibility, should we have the opportunity to be of service to Canada,\u201d said Goel.<\/p>\n
NordSpace is moving to a Markham facility five times the size of the company\u2019s current space to support orbital rocket development. It made a few failed attempts to launch Canada\u2019s first commercial rocket into suborbit from Newfoundland last year and will try again this year.<\/p>\n
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Since its inception in 2022, NordSpace, led by Rahul Goel and largely self-funded, has developed a suborbital launch rocket, a spaceport in Newfoundland, and a dual-use satellite set to be launched by SpaceX this year.<\/p>\n
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Andrew Francis Wallace\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n
Goel said his team is focusing on developing its Tundra rocket with 3D-printed liquid-fueled engines, designed to carry payloads of up to 500 kilograms, for the orbital mission. Beyond building rockets, NordSpace also owns a Newfoundland spaceport and will launch its first self-funded dual-use satellite into space by hitching a ride on a rocket from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX in 2026.<\/p>\n
For Canadian Rocket Company CEO Hugh Kolias, the government\u2019s announcement last fall was the very reason he chose to start a rocket company with his co-founder and former SpaceX engineer David Tenny in Canada.<\/p>\n
The Toronto-based startup aims to follow SpaceX\u2019s path by first developing a light-lift rocket powered by a liquid methane\u2013liquid oxygen engine, and then clustering seven of these engines into a reusable medium-lift vehicle capable of delivering up to 6,500 kg.<\/p>\n
Kolias said he decided to pursue his childhood dream of building rockets after selling his software startup, Yuhu, in 2022, but initially considered moving to Europe due to the Canadian government\u2019s limited emphasis on launch capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we definitely wouldn\u2019t have been able to launch the company without direction like\u00a0that from the federal government,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout that, I don\u2019t think the private markets would have considered this a serious enough endeavour from a public policy perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
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NordSpace is planning a suborbital launch from its Newfoundland spaceport this April and aims to reach orbit by 2028.<\/p>\n
Andrew Francis Wallace\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n
Low Earth orbit by 2028<\/p>\n
Since 2018, Halifax has been home to Stephen Matier, a former NASA engineer who moved to Nova Scotia to build Canada\u2019s first commercial spaceport, Maritime Launch Services.<\/p>\n
Several times a month, he makes the three-hour drive from the city to Canso, a quiet, centuries-old fishing town, where his launch site is taking shape. Last week, the facility secured a historic 10-year, $200 million federal lease for a dedicated launch pad, with most of the funds required to be spent in Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been\u00a0working really long and hard to get this initiative into a position where it is today, teed up for success,\u201d said Matier. \u201cIt\u2019s really an important piece for us for being a revenue-generating company, definitely on a positive track.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Quebec-based rocket company is aiming to have its first demonstration launch by the end of 2022.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Quebec-based rocket company is aiming to have its first demonstration launch by the end of 2022.<\/p>\n The launch pad news came alongside Ottawa\u2019s announcement selecting NordSpace, Canada Rocket Company, and Reaction Dynamics, each receiving an $8.3-million grant in the first round of the \u201cLaunch the North\u201d contest.<\/p>\n The three-year, outcome-based challenge, worth up to $105 million, aims to enable light-lift launches \u2014 carrying payloads of up to 200 kg \u2014 to reach low Earth orbit by 2028.<\/p>\n This marks the first step in Canada\u2019s 10-year push for medium-lift capability, enabling the deployment of 4,000 kg-class payloads, such as national security satellites, which are vital to sovereignty.<\/p>\n Last November, Maritime Launch Services hosted the successful launch of a Dutch suborbital rocket from Canso, though it fell short of the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line at an altitude of 100 kilometres, widely recognized as the boundary of outer space.<\/p>\n The company, which is constructing three more launch pads, is planning to host two suborbital launches this year and expects to support an orbital launch by 2027.<\/p>\n Reaction Dynamics has leased a Maritime Launch Services pad for an orbital launch in 2028 and plans to conduct its first-ever suborbital launch from Australia in 2026.<\/p>\n Similarly, Goel said NordSpace, which operates the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland, will conduct a suborbital launch in April and prepare to reach orbit by 2028.<\/p>\n While forming teams only recently, Canadian Rocket Company\u2019s Kolias said he has brought in experts with more than 10 years of rocket-building experience and has also set his goal of reaching orbit first.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re making sure we\u2019re not reinventing the technical wheel and are really focused on execution,\u201d said Kolias.<\/p>\n \u2018An incredible start\u2019<\/p>\n The $183-million commitment from the federal government represents the biggest push Canada has ever seen for domestic space launch, said space law professor Andrea Harrington.<\/p>\n![\"Reaction](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/645a537945684.image.jpg\")
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