Ongoing Work at NordSpace's Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) SLC-02
NordSpace's Technical Team Getting the Taiga Rocket Ready for Flight at the Company's Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX)
The site tour underscored NordSpace's advancements toward achieving Canada's premier fully integrated sovereign orbital launch capability
NordSpace is focused on space solutions that are truly sovereign. We were pleased to welcome our government partners to the ASX, critical spaceport infrastructure built to scale, and built for Canada.”— Rahul Goel, CEO & FounderST. LAWRENCE, NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR, CANADA, July 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — On July 14th, NordSpace Corp. hosted high-level representatives from the Department of National Defence, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Town of St. Lawrence at its Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in Newfoundland and Labrador. The visit gave officials an update on construction progress and the company's vision to build Canada's first vertically integrated orbital launch capability.
Attendees toured the existing Space Launch Complex 02 (SLC-02), where work began in 2025 to support both suborbital and light lift orbital launches. They also received an overview of upcoming work for Space Launch Complex 01 (SLC-01), where orbital launch infrastructure is moving into its next development phase. The Atlantic Spaceport Complex stands as NordSpace's commercial launch site and the most capable facility in Canada, offering the broadest range of inclinations, the largest safety margins for scaling to medium and heavy-lift vehicles, and the highest authorized launch frequency. Construction continues this summer across both SLC-01 and SLC-02.
Once operational, the ASX will support launches of NordSpace's Canadian-designed and built space launch vehicles for defence, commercial, and civil missions. The completed facility will give Canada sovereign, guaranteed access to space while boosting domestic aerospace manufacturing, generating high-skilled employment, and fueling the country's expanding space economy. The ASX will also help Canada realize its priority sovereign space capabilities outlined in the new Defence Industrial Strategy, including Space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Satellite Communications, and Space Domain Awareness (SDA).
As a wholly Canadian-owned enterprise, NordSpace exemplifies the "build" pillar of the Defence Industrial Strategy's Build–Partner–Buy framework. The company concentrates on developing its launch, spaceport, and space systems technology within Canada, collaborating with other specialized Canadian organizations where suitable. NordSpace remains committed to an ITAR-free development path for its launch capabilities, ensuring full control over critical intellectual property and unencumbered operations free from foreign technology export restrictions. The company prioritizes the growth of Canadian intellectual property within the domestic defence industrial base and intends to channel profits back into well-compensated, highly skilled jobs in Canada.
“We were pleased to welcome our federal, provincial, and municipal partners to the Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) and showcase the significant progress being made,” said Rahul Goel, Chief Executive Officer of NordSpace. “Canada has the talent, technology, and industrial capacity to become a launching nation. NordSpace’s ASX is an important step toward building sovereign space infrastructure that supports our national security, economic competitiveness, and scientific ambitions.”
The site visit drew representatives from the Department of National Defence, the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and municipal leaders from the Town of St. Lawrence. The delegation also engaged with local residents at a community town hall and barbecue hosted by members of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department.
Development of the ASX is unfolding in phases. NordSpace is currently improving site access infrastructure and preparing to build dedicated orbital launch pads for light and medium-lift launch vehicles that are fully designed and manufactured by NordSpace. This vertical integration leverages domestic supply chains and draws highly skilled workers from across Canada. NordSpace anticipates the spaceport will serve government, defence, commercial, and international clients seeking responsive launch services from Canadian soil.
NordSpace's upcoming suborbital launches of its Taiga pathfinder rocket from the ASX will serve as a critical operational test bed for both the technical and regulatory sides of the company's current build. On the technical front, Taiga will retire risk on flight technologies essential to the orbital-class Tundra vehicle—including propulsion, avionics, guidance, and recovery systems—as Canada's first commercial liquid rocket launch. On the regulatory front, Taiga will aim to provide the first real-world exercise of Canada's Commercial Space Launch licensing regime, range and airspace management procedures, day-of-launch coordination between operator and regulator, and public safety frameworks. Each Taiga launch is designed to build institutional muscle memory across NordSpace and its federal counterparts ahead of Canada's first sovereign orbital launches.
The ASX complements the company's ongoing expansion at other sites. Rocket Factory 1 in Markham acts as the company's headquarters and a 60,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing campus, producing the light-lift Tundra and medium-lift Tundra+ orbital launch vehicles, the patent-pending Hadfield-150 engine line, and space systems satellite and robotics products. Area 66 in Eastern Ontario is the company's 50-acre propulsion test range, home to the Darkhorse engine test cell, with the Blackhawk test cell scheduled to reach operational readiness later this summer in preparation for the largest rocket engine test in Canadian history. Finally, the recently announced Ottawa office, led by former Transport Canada executive Elsa Henchiri, handles government, regulatory, and policy matters.
About NordSpace
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.
Jennifer Gawor
NordSpace Corp.
contact@nordspace.com
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