NordSpace’s Atlantic Spaceport Complex Secures $10 Million in New Investments for Canada’s Sovereign Launch Capability

Investment from ACOA, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and NordSpace deepens the sovereign Canadian infrastructure required for sovereign space launch

ST. LAWRENCE, NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR, CANADA, August 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — NordSpace Corp., Canada’s only vertically integrated space missions company, joined the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Honourable Lin Paddock, Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development, today at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador, to announce a combined $10 million investment to accelerate the buildout of Canada’s most capable commercial spaceport.

The investment includes $1 million from the Government of Canada through ACOA’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, $4 million from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and $5 million of NordSpace’s own capital. It builds upon significant capital privately raised by the company, in addition to the $8.3 million previously committed to NordSpace under the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Launch the North challenge, through which NordSpace was selected as one of the Canadian companies advancing sovereign national space launch capability. Additional investments and contracts specifically for the spaceport are to be announced over the coming months, as well as for the company’s broader space launch and space systems programs.

The Atlantic Spaceport Complex is being designed around the vehicles it will fly, anchored by NordSpace’s Taiga, Tundra and Tempest light and medium lift vehicles. ASX is Canada’s most capable commercial spaceport, offering the widest inclination ranges available in the country, the largest safety distances required for scalability to medium- and heavy-lift vehicles, and the highest approved launch cadence in Canada. Space Launch Complex 02 (SLC-02), purpose-built for suborbital and light-lift orbital missions, has been under construction since 2025 and will host Taiga’s inaugural flight as well as partner Canadian vehicles. SLC-01 is now entering its next phase of development to support orbital operations by 2028. Environmental approval for the site was received in January 2026, enabling continued construction through the current build season, with new construction tenders issued earlier this month.

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) identifies space as one of the country’s ten Key Sovereign Capabilities, with space launch designated as a priority area. NordSpace is building the end-to-end capacity required to deliver against that mandate, with Canadian-designed launch vehicles, Canadian-manufactured propulsion, Canadian-held intellectual property, and Canadian-owned launch infrastructure all integrated within the country. The company is Canada’s only vertically integrated space missions company, spanning responsive orbital launch vehicles, spaceports, turnkey satellites, and mission-critical software systems, with all hardware designed, built, and flown in Canada. A sovereign launch capability requires Canadian ownership of the vehicle, the engine, the spaceport, and the operating capability, and NordSpace has committed to building all four rather than relying on foreign launch vehicles operating from Canadian soil.

NordSpace’s launch fleet is architected around a common technology base. It begins with Taiga, a suborbital pathfinder designed to conduct Canada’s first commercial liquid rocket launch from ASX and retire orbital launch technology risk, currently awaiting regulatory approval. Tundra, the company’s light-lift orbital vehicle, delivers 1,100 kilograms to low-Earth orbit and is powered by the patent-pending Hadfield-150 engine line, Canada’s first orbital-class liquid engine, designed and manufactured end-to-end in Canada. In a first for Canada, NordSpace recently revealed key orbital-class propulsion systems including metal 3D printed combustion chambers and turbomachinery systems. Tundra+ extends the same Tundra platform, propulsion, and manufacturing tooling to deliver more than 2,000 kilograms to low-Earth orbit, giving Canada a sovereign medium-lift capability at a fraction of the cost of a purpose-built medium-lift program. In parallel, NordSpace is developing Tempest, a future reusable medium-lift launcher capable of delivering more than 5,000 kilograms to low-Earth orbit for sustained, high-cadence access to space.

NordSpace’s national capability is anchored by three additional sites that support ASX operations. Rocket Factory 1 (RF-1), the company’s advanced manufacturing headquarters and Controlled Goods Program facility in Markham, Ontario, produces the Tundra and Tundra+ launch vehicles, the Hadfield-150 engine line, and turnkey satellite and robotics products. It is being commissioned to host the nation’s largest automated metal 3D printing and composites manufacturing systems. Area 66, the company’s 50-acre propulsion test range in Eastern Ontario, is operating the Darkhorse engine test cell and preparing the Blackhawk cell to host the largest rocket engine test in Canadian history in the coming months. The company’s Ottawa office, opened on Canada Day 2026, anchors NordSpace’s policy and government relations activities in the national capital. Taken together, these four sites give Canada a self-contained industrial capability across design, manufacturing, propulsion testing, launch, and satellite operations, providing the foundational elements required for a deeply rooted, long-duration sovereign launch capability. NordSpace’s CEO also announced today that the company is actively exploring scaled manufacturing operations in Newfoundland and Labrador, in addition to launch operations.

The investment announced today will help NordSpace create high-skilled jobs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador by 2028, alongside employment in construction, transportation, professional services, and tourism in the region. Once operational, Canadian launch from ASX will place Canadian-owned satellites into orbit in support of agriculture and food security, wildfire prediction, remote broadband connectivity, wildlife and climate monitoring, fisheries and oceans, national security, and public safety, delivering direct benefit to communities across the country.

“Our commitment is to build a company that is sovereign itself, to support a sovereign Canada. This investment in the Atlantic Spaceport Complex is a seminal moment for the nation. This is not just about building a spaceport; it is about building a future where a sovereign Canada leads in space exploration and innovation with critical national infrastructure committed to launching Canadian vehicles, from Canadian soil, carrying Canadian payloads. NordSpace is building Newfoundland and Labrador into Canada’s gateway to space, launching satellites on Canada’s own terms to support farmers, predict wildfires, connect remote communities, and monitor wildlife across our great nation. This investment will catalyze new economic opportunities while bolstering our national defence, so we are grateful for this support from ACOA and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Rahul Goel, CEO and Founder of NordSpace.

About NordSpace Corp.

NordSpace Corp., established in 2022, is a fully Canadian-owned aerospace and defence company developing vertically integrated solutions across responsive orbital launch vehicles, spaceports, turnkey satellites, and mission-critical software systems. Its hardware is designed, built, and flown in Canada, with the mission of advancing life on Earth through space and delivering innovation, jobs, national security, and sovereignty.

Elsa Henchiri
NordSpace Corp.
contact@nordspace.com
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Written By: EIN Presswire