A new agreement between Canada and the United States has rekindled hopes of building a spaceport in rural Nova Scotia.
Federal Cabinet Minister and Nova Scotia MP Sean Fraser announced Friday in Halifax that the two countries have negotiated a Technology Safeguards Agreement that will enable the use of American space launch technology, expertise and data in Canada.
The agreement will not come into force until both countries have independently reviewed and approved it, and Fraser could not provide a timeline. However, he said he expects each government to immediately and quickly take steps to obtain the appropriate national approvals.
Steve Matier, president and CEO of Maritime Launch Services, said he has no intention of waiting for the ink to dry.
“We’re good to go,” he told reporters after the announcement.
He described the deal between the two countries as a “huge” achievement for his startup.
“It’s really crucial for us to be able to move forward, and it’s something we’ve been working on behind the scenes and we hope to get it done,” he said.
Matier has been working for several years to build a spaceport in the remote coastal town of Canso, Nova Scotia.
Maritime Launch has a 40-year lease on approximately 135 hectares of provincial Crown land on which it intends to build its launch pad. The company I got the green light to build from the provincial government in 2022.
So far, only roads have been built there.
New model inspired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The original vision for the spaceport was to use a Cyclone 4M rocket, which can launch up to 30 satellites at once. Matier said he had to change course because of the rocket’s origins — it’s made in Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, we have moved away from Ukrainian technology,” he told reporters on Friday.
“It all started with COVID-19, and then there was the Russian invasion of Ukraine, [which] made it difficult for us to deliver this technology.”
Matier said Maritime Launch is currently developing a launch pad that it will lease to customers who bring their own rockets. He said he believes there is a market for the service.
“We have investors, go-to-market customers and satellite customers — all three are very important to us and would be happy to relocate here to be a part of what we’re working on,” he said.
In 2021, the company had $10.5 million in secured investments. Matier did not say how much it has now.
The initial cost of building the cosmodrome was estimated at around $200 million, but Matier said the new model, developed in response to the situation in Ukraine, would allow the cost to be reduced fourfold, to around $50 million.
Last year, the province made the project eligible for a $13 million tax credit. Earlier this year, the federal government secured terms through the Strategic Innovation Fund that would allow the company to benefit from a repayable loan of nearly $13 million.
Maritime Launch hosted a group of college students who conducted a suborbital launch of an amateur rocket at its Canso facility last year. Matier said another demonstration is planned for later this year.
He added that he expects construction of the launch pad to begin and be completed by 2026.
The project has sparked controversy in the Canso community, where some residents fear environmental impactOthers, however, hope the startup business and related tourism will bring revenue to the economically isolated part of the province.
Fraser said he respects those concerns. He believes the company took them seriously.
“I wouldn’t be such a defender of this particular project if they showed disregard for the environmental impact assessment process,” he said.
Matier said he was proud of the “social license” the company had developed at Canso.
