CANSO – Maritime Launch Services (MLS) says it is on track to hand over a designated launch pad area to German rocket company Isar Aerospace by Nov. 1, clearing the way for an estimated $142-million Canadian investment in its own launch complex at Spaceport Nova Scotia.
Before that happens, MLS must complete an access road to the site, where Antigonish-based construction company Nova Construction has been working in recent weeks, according to Sarah McLean, MLS vice-president of corporate affairs, in an email to The Journal last week.
“The handover is on schedule,” she said. “MLS’s responsibility is to complete that access road to their designated area by November 1st.”
Once Isar takes possession, it will be responsible for designing and building its own infrastructure for launching Spectrum, its two-stage rocket designed to carry satellites into orbit.
Under a 10-year facilities-use agreement between the two companies, MLS will provide Isar with a licensed launch site, shared infrastructure, public-access controls, regulatory support and operational services.
In September, MLS and Isar finalized a detailed statement of work and program milestones, satisfying another requirement of their agreement. The next major deadline is Dec. 31, 2027, when MLS must complete additional spaceport infrastructure.
The two companies reached the largest commercial agreement in MLS’s history on July 7, signing a deal in Ankara, Türkiye, worth approximately $159 million in base payments to the spaceport company over 10 years.
Under its terms, Isar is to pay MLS about $5.3 million quarterly during the first year, followed by a 30-month fee waiver while the German company develops its facilities. Payments then resume for the balance of the initial term.
The agreement also provides for additional launch-related service fees on a cost-plus basis and gives Isar options to renew for two further five-year terms.
Separate from those payments, Isar expects to invest approximately $142 million in developing its own launch complex, according to figures McLean provided to The Journal in July.
“That will bring significant additional direct foreign investment and activity to the region as Isar establishes its Canadian launch operations,” McLean noted in her email last week. “We expect its Canadian presence and team to grow quite quickly as their work progresses toward launch operations.”
Isar has already established Isar Aerospace Canada Inc. and is recruiting a managing director to be based in the Canso, Hazel Hill or Little Dover area.
The Isar complex is one of four launch pads planned for the spaceport. Two others have been allocated to the Department of National Defence and Montreal-based Reaction Dynamics, leaving one available for another customer.
For MLS, McLean said, the Isar agreement marks a shift from developing the spaceport to accommodating companies and government agencies that will operate from it.
“It is an important transition point for Maritime Launch and Spaceport Nova Scotia,” she said. “We are continuing to move from developing the foundational infrastructure of the spaceport to executing long-term agreements with users who will operate from the site.”
She said the arrangement reflects MLS’s plans for a multi-user, dual-use spaceport where individual launch providers establish dedicated facilities while relying on MLS for the licensed site, common infrastructure and operational services.
“For us, the significance of November 1 is that Canada is getting tangibly closer to sovereign access to space,” she said. “Construction is underway, the detailed statement of work with Isar is complete, and Isar is preparing to invest in its own infrastructure and establish a growing presence in Canso, Hazel Hill and Little Dover.”
Both companies are targeting their first orbital launches from Nova Scotia in 2028.
