Canso spaceport lands $159 million deal

CANSO – Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has signed the largest commercial agreement in its history, a 10-year facilities-use deal worth about $159 million in base payments (all figures Canadian) that is expected to bring an additional $142-million investment from Isar...

CANSO – Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has signed the largest commercial agreement in its history, a 10-year facilities-use deal worth about $159 million in base payments (all figures Canadian) that is expected to bring an additional $142-million investment from Isar Aerospace, near Munich, to build its launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso. The agreement is also MLS’s first long-term facilities-use agreement of this scale, according to the company, and would give the German rocket maker a dedicated launch complex at Canada’s first licensed commercial orbital launch site. Under the deal, Isar plans to develop facilities for its Spectrum rocket, including a launch pad, assembly, integration and testing facilities, a launch operations centre and a facility for payload integration.

According to the companies, the coastal site provides over-ocean trajectories to mid- and high-inclination and polar orbits used for Earth observation, communications and defence missions. Commercial terms “From a commercial perspective, this is the largest commercial agreement Maritime Launch Services has signed to date and represents our first long-term facilities usage agreement of this scale,” MLS vice-president of corporate affairs Sarah McLean told The Journal. She confirmed the first quarterly payment of about $5.3 million is due within 30 days of signing.

That would amount to about $21.3 million over the first four quarters. A 30-month fee waiver would then take effect while Isar develops and activates its launch complex. “That period aligns with the development and activation of Isar Aerospace’s dedicated launch complex at Spaceport Nova Scotia, including construction, infrastructure completion and readiness activities contemplated under the agreement,” McLean said.

Quarterly payments of about $5.3 million would resume after the waiver, adding about $138 million over the balance of the initial term. That brings the base value to about $159 million, excluding additional per-launch service fees payable to MLS on a cost-plus basis once operations begin. Isar has the right to renew the agreement for two additional five-year terms.

McLean said Isar is expected to spend about $142 million in Canada building out its pad. The contract follows a letter of intent the two companies signed in May. It remains conditional on the parties agreeing by Sept. 1 on a statement of work and certain program milestones, MLS handing over the designated launch pad by Nov. 1, and additional spaceport infrastructure being completed by Dec. 31, 2027.

The contract was signed July 7 in Ankara, Türkiye, during the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum by Isar CEO Daniel Metzler and MLS president and CEO Stephen Matier. Isar, based near Munich, develops and manufactures its Spectrum launch vehicle largely in-house and has established Isar Aerospace Canada Inc. to anchor its North American presence. “We are excited to partner with Maritime Launch Services and launch Spectrum from Spaceport Nova Scotia,” Isar vice-president of mission and launch operations Alexandre Dalloneau said in the companies’ announcement.

“Together, we have moved from intention to execution at the pace global demand for space access requires.” Dalloneau called launch capacity “one of the most consequential bottlenecks in defence and intelligence today,” adding that Canada is the next step in Isar’s plan to provide end-to-end launch capability to sovereign nations. Strategic fit

In March, Ottawa announced a 10-year, $200-million agreement to lease a dedicated launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia for the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Armed Forces and broader federal needs, with ad hoc access for allies and partners. While the agreement with Isar is commercially separate from the federal and defence arrangements, McLean said, it fits the same strategic direction. “It aligns closely with Canada’s broader objective of establishing sovereign launch capability and supports allied access to space,” she said, noting that Canada and Germany both require sovereign access to space and are members of NATO Starlift, a program focused on rapid satellite-launch capability for military and commercial purposes.

In the announcement, Matier said the Isar agreement combines Isar’s Spectrum vehicle with the spaceport’s licensed infrastructure to create “the conditions for reliable orbital launch services from Canada.” “As a multi-user spaceport, our role is to provide the infrastructure, regulatory framework, and operational support that enable launch providers to serve commercial, civil, and defence customers from Canadian soil,” he said. The deal comes less than a month after MLS conducted a suborbital demonstration launch at the site with T-Minus Engineering of the Netherlands.

The Barracuda rocket launched June 10 before making what Matier called an “unplanned diversion” from its expected flight path. A second launch planned for that morning was cancelled, and the vehicle landed in the Atlantic Ocean. MLS described the exercise as a test of the spaceport’s procedures, infrastructure and team readiness.

Representatives of NATO Starlift attended, while federal, provincial and municipal officials emphasized Canadian sovereignty, defence capability and regional economic development. The project has also continued to draw local opposition. Signs erected near the June launch criticized the federal government’s $200-million commitment, reflecting concerns that have followed the proposed spaceport throughout its development.

The Isar contract advances MLS’s multi-user model, under which government and commercial customers can access shared licensed infrastructure and operational services. Construction is planned to begin this year, with first orbital launches targeted for 2028. Isar expects operations to ramp up from there, with the potential for the spaceport to support as many as 40 launches annually by 2029.