Nova Scotia is now home to Canada’s first operational commercial spaceport.
Maritime Launch Services, or MLS, completed its first suborbital rocket launch from its new Canso facility on Friday under a collaboration with York University students.
The launch was coordinated by Saudi Arabia’s Al NajmX, with the payload being a high-tech, data-gathering satellite from the same country. The rocket itself was a Goose 3 — a design from York’s student-run Arbalest Rocketry group.
The partnership between MLS and Arbalest Rocketry was organized by industry association Launch Canada, which aims to foster student participation in the space economy.
“To the Arbalest team, we wish you an incredibly bright future in space,” said MLS on LinkedIn. “We look forward to continuing our support as you, and all Canadian students, further a career in Canadian rocketry.
“To the local communities that surround Spaceport Nova Scotia, and we call home, your continued engagement, partnership and collaboration inspires and motivates us.”
MLS went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2021 and finalized the land lease for its Canso spaceport last August.
The Arbalest launch marks the beginning of the “crawl” part of a “crawl, walk, run” approach from MLS, with small orbital launches coming in 2024 and larger rockets with capacities of up to 5,000 kilograms to follow in 2025.
