The company building Canada's first commercial spaceport says it hopes to be ready for its first suborbital test launch sometime early this summer. Steve Matier, CEO of Maritime Launch Services, says work that began last September on an access road to the launch site near Canso, N.S., is nearly complete. Matier delivers remarks in Halifax on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
HALIFAX – The company building Canada’s first commercial spaceport says its first suborbital test launch from northeastern Nova Scotia should be ready by early summer.
Maritime Launch Services CEO Steve Matier says work that began last September on an access road to the launch site near Canso, N.S., is nearly complete.
Matier says a small concrete pad will then be poured to accommodate a small-scale launch to send a rocket briefly into space before it falls back to Earth.
He says his company is planning to conduct its first commercial launch, using a larger Ukrainian-made rocket, in 2025.
The federal government said last week it will develop the regulatory requirements, safety standards and licensing conditions for satellite space launches from Canada within the next three years.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government would approve space launches over the interim period on a case-by-case basis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2023.
