CANSO – For years, residents of this wind-swept coastal community between the great big sea and the big blue yonder could only imagine what a commercial spaceport on Nova Scotia’s Eastern shore might one day look like. Now, according to Maritime Launch Services CEO Stephen Matier, the wait will soon be over.
In an extensive email to The Journal last week, Matier said construction of the core infrastructure needed to operate Spaceport Nova Scotia is now underway, with the first of two stages scheduled to wrap up within days and the second expected to continue through September.
“The civil work is split into two phases, the first of which will be completed next week,” Matier wrote in the May 28 update. “It expanded the road network to a key central location on the site and also expanded out the area where customer launch vehicle integration and satellite processing buildings will be constructed… This will allow for the first building construction to get started.”
Specifically, he said, that initial structure will be the “heart of the facility, the Utility Hub,” a central services building designed to distribute power, communications and other core infrastructure throughout the spaceport. The project is expected to go to tender next week, with construction beginning this summer and electrical service scheduled to be connected by late fall.
“We expect this process to run about three weeks,” Matier wrote. “Some of the expected subtrades needed for this package include sitework, wells, foundations, rebar, concrete supply, concrete finishing, precast concrete, miscellaneous metals, roofing, cladding, glazing, drywall and steel stud work, doors and frames, millwork, flooring, painting, plumbing, HVAC and electrical.”
Closely behind this, he said, work will commence on a permanent entrance and security facility intended to replace the temporary trailer serving as the site’s access point. The design package for that is also nearing completion and is expected to go to tender in late June.
“This building will be where the first site entrance control point is into the spaceport and will be located on our parcel of land in between the town of Canso and the Sable Wind Farm,” Matier wrote. “In collaboration with the Municipality of Guysborough, this first security and safety checkpoint will also provide for access control to the wind farm and the outside perimeter security for the launch site.”
Then will come the first launch vehicle integration facility, where rockets and satellites will be assembled and prepared before launch. The design is expected to be ready for tender by the end of August.
“This package is also in the design phase and we expect to share renderings of that facility in the near future,” Matier wrote. “This design package we expect to complete in July and roll out for construction tendering before the end of August and has design input coming through our ongoing launch client collaborations.”
Also in August, MLS plans to begin the next phase of civil construction, extending the site’s road network from one to four planned launch pads. That work is expected to continue through September.
“We already have preliminary designs provided by DesignPoint Engineering and Surveying and are working through the drawings to finalize them by midsummer when the civil construction company, Nova Construction, will then reengage and work to complete before the end of September,” Matier wrote.
News of the developments – prompted by a request by The Journal for a concrete update on infrastructure planning and construction – come amid a series of deals and events that have accelerated the decade-old project over the past year.
In March, the federal government signed a 10-year, $200-million agreement with Maritime Launch Services under which the Department of National Defence will lease a dedicated launch pad at the site. The deal provides $20 million annually to the company and requires that at least 90 per cent of those funds be spent in Canada.
That agreement followed a successful suborbital test launch in late 2025 and comes as Parliament considers Bill C-28, the proposed Canadian Space Launch Act, legislation designed to establish a legal framework for commercial space launches from Canadian soil.
Most recently, Maritime Launch announced a letter of intent with German launch company Isar Aerospace aimed at supporting future orbital launch capability from Nova Scotia.
“The global space economy is experiencing significant growth ($1T/year in 2030), and both commercial and defence customers increasingly require reliable access to orbit for communications, Earth observation, national security, and next-generation satellite constellations,” MLS Vice-President of Corporate Development Sarah McLean said in a separate email to The Journal last week.
“Launch capacity is constrained globally, and companies are actively seeking strategic launch locations to support long-term operational growth.”
Further down the road, Matier said, a redesigned launch control centre will become the focal point of the complex.
“While much of a launch site is utilitarian in nature, we are looking forward to how [our] launch control centre will represent Canada’s sovereign launch facility.”
