Test vehicle launching to ‘the edge of space’ from Nova Scotia next week

A space vehicle will be launched from Nova Scotia, marking a significant milestone for the technology company on the province’s eastern shore.

Maritime Launch Services, behind Spaceport Nova Scotia in the Canso area, is partnering with a company from the Netherlands, T-minus Engineering, to launch a test vehicle 100 kilometres up from Canada’s shore. This part of the atmosphere, the founder of Maritime Launch Services said, is called “the edge of space” or the Kármán line.

It is expected to happen on Nov. 18 as long as the weather permits.

“So this would be the first time in 27 years that we in Canada have put anything above the Kármán line from the launch,” Stephen Matier told The Todd Veinotte Show.

The communities of Canso, Hazel Hill and Little Dover will be able to see the launch happen. Matier said it won’t be extremely loud, but people in the towns might hear something.

The goal is to make the pad a fully functioning port, allowing commercial launches into space from Canada. This will serve commercial and government satellite operators, similar to how an airport serves airlines, the company’s website explains. An orbital launch could come as early as 2026.

In August, the company inked a deal with Montreal-based orbital launch firm Reaction Dynamics Inc., paving the way for the first-ever orbital launch of a Canadian-designed and built rocket from Spaceport Nova Scotia.

These agreements and funding announcements from partners have been positive for Matier and the team, who hope to ramp up projects and hit milestones next year.

“Looking forward to continuing that development and really kicking in some construction activities next spring to really get that site up and running and ready,” he said.