NordSpace starts Phase 2 construction at Canada’s largest spaceport

NordSpace has begun Phase 2 construction at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador, moving the company closer to Canada’s first sovereign orbital launch. The work includes a six-kilometre access road and new launch infrastructure aimed at supporting light- and medium-lift missions by 2028.

Why it matters: - The Atlantic Spaceport Complex is the infrastructure base for NordSpace’s plan to launch Canadian rockets carrying Canadian payloads from Canadian soil. - Phase 2 is a major step toward Canada’s first sovereign orbital launch and a target launch window of net 2028. - The buildout strengthens Canada’s only vertically integrated space missions company as it scales launch, spacecraft and spaceport operations together.

What happened: - NordSpace entered Phase 2 construction at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex SLC-01 in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador. - Phase 2 begins with a six-kilometre launch access road built to move the Tundra light-lift vehicle and Tempest medium-lift vehicle to the pad. - The company targets Phase 2 completion by spring 2027. - NordSpace says the spaceport is on schedule to support made-in-Canada orbital launch net 2028, in line with the Department of National Defence’s Launch the North timeline.

The details: - Once Phase 2 is complete, NordSpace plans to install two orbital launch pads, mission control, propellant storage, launch platforms and towers, ground stations, vehicle integration hangars, ground support equipment, utilities and the first elements of a visitor centre. - The Atlantic Spaceport Complex is described as Canada’s largest and most capable spaceport, with the widest range of launch inclinations in the country, the largest safety distances of any Canadian spaceport and the highest approved launch cadence in Canada. - NordSpace owns and operates the spaceport, giving the company direct control over launch-site operations and regulatory posture. - Phase 2 follows a $10 million combined investment in the Atlantic Spaceport Complex. - That funding included $1 million from the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, $4 million from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and $5 million in NordSpace private capital. - The company says much of the work is being delivered through partnerships with local contractors and suppliers from across the Burin Peninsula. - NordSpace says its first satellite, Terra Nova, is operating in orbit and meeting mission objectives while testing common hardware and operations at TRL-9. - NordSpace says Terra Nova made the company the first Canadian launch company operating its own hardware in space. - The Taiga suborbital launch vehicle is awaiting its first flight pending final regulatory approvals. - At Rocket Factory 1 in Markham, the Tundra orbital launch vehicle is advancing with metal additive manufacturing and automated composites. - NordSpace and Transport Canada are working on launch approvals and authorizations under Canada’s new Commercial Space Launch Act and related rules. - NordSpace says additional announcements on the regulatory process are expected in the near term. - Lessons from Terra Nova, including spacecraft integration with a launch vehicle at the pad in Vandenberg, are shaping the design of ASX’s satellite integration facility.

Between the lines: - The company is building launch capacity, spacecraft capability and regulatory readiness in parallel, which reduces dependence on any single milestone. - NordSpace’s ownership of the spaceport appears intended to shorten decision-making and support a higher launch cadence. - The company is also positioning ASX as a multi-user site, not just a single-company launch base, which could make the spaceport more commercially flexible. - The emphasis on local contractors and suppliers suggests the spaceport buildout is being used to anchor economic activity in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as space operations.

What's next: - SLC-02 will continue to host the Taiga program while NordSpace awaits final approvals for first flight. - After Taiga’s first launch, the program will evolve into VERTEX, a suborbital flight platform for government, academia and industry. - NordSpace plans to establish Test Complex 1 and Test Complex 2 at the spaceport for full-stack vehicle testing. - The company also plans a ground station at ASX as part of its NordSpace ground station network, which is set to begin standing up in 2027 with nodes at ASX, in the Arctic and in southern Ontario at Rocket Factory 1. - Further international nodes are planned later. - NordSpace is also preparing announcements on additional investments and contracts across its launch, spacecraft, propulsion and spaceport programs. - The company is in discussions with several launch companies that could use ASX for their own operations. - NordSpace says more detail on partner launch customers for hypersonic test campaigns and orbital missions will be shared in the near future.

The bottom line: - NordSpace is moving from concept to physical buildout, with Phase 2 putting Canada’s most ambitious spaceport plan into real construction and closer to first launch.