Spaceport Nova Scotia
Canada's dual-use launch complex.
Built for the next generation of commercial, government, and defence missions: a licensed, multi-user facility near Canso, Nova Scotia, with secure over-ocean trajectories and rare access to polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Canso, NSOrbital access
Direct access to the orbits that matter.
On Canada’s Atlantic coast, Spaceport Nova Scotia provides access to polar and sun-synchronous orbits from a single site. Clear trajectories, no overflight hazards, and direct access to the orbits that matter most.
The site
A launch frontier on the Atlantic.
The spaceport sits on open coast near Canso, far from dense population, with the Atlantic immediately downrange. Spaceport Nova Scotia is operational, currently hosting suborbital and hypersonic missions with launch vehicle partners, while construction for orbital launch accelerates.
- Permitted
- Fully licensed site
- 5,000 kg
- To low-Earth orbit
- 335 acres
- Up to four launch pads
- Operational
- Suborbital missions today
Infrastructure
Everything a mission needs, in one place.
A launch site is more than a pad. Spaceport Nova Scotia runs on an airport-style model: Maritime Launch operates the shared infrastructure while launch providers operate from dedicated pads tailored to their vehicles, from integration through ignition and range safety.
A purpose-built pad with flame deflection, hold-down, and propellant servicing, engineered for small and medium-class vehicles and designed to turn around between missions.
Controlled facilities for receiving, integrating, and preparing vehicles and payloads on site, so a mission can arrive, build up, and roll out without leaving the complex.
Tracking, telemetry, and flight-safety systems covering the overwater range, the operational backbone that keeps every launch monitored from ignition through orbit insertion.
Timeline
The groundwork is done.
Spaceport Nova Scotia is fully permitted and licensed, with construction active on site, the result of years of approvals, study, and build, step by step toward the first orbital launch.
- 2018Maritime Launch incorporated
The company is formed and early financing comes together to develop a commercial spaceport in Nova Scotia.
- 2019Environmental assessment approved
Provincial EA approval is granted after years of study, public consultation, and Indigenous and community engagement.
- 2022Groundbreaking at Canso
Early site development begins: the first ground broken on Canada's commercial spaceport.
- 2023First suborbital launch
Phase 1 roads and grounds are completed, the first suborbital pad is built, and the first suborbital demonstration flies.
- 2024Ground-station partnership
A partnership with Leaf Space is established to receive and process mission data from the site.
- 2025Investment accelerates the build
An EDC credit facility and a strategic MDA investment are announced; the second suborbital demonstration flies and integration-facility design is completed.
- 2026Sovereign launch & NATO
Canada names Spaceport Nova Scotia its sovereign launch site and joins NATO Starlift. Maritime Launch completes ground station with Leaf Space, and flies a third suborbital mission from Spaceport Nova Scotia.
- 2027TargetFirst orbital launch
Targeted for late 2027: the first satellite launched into orbit from Canadian soil.
Plan your launch
Bring your mission to Nova Scotia.
Tell us about your vehicle and your target orbit. We'll walk you through the site, the range, and the path from manifest to launch.