Maritime Launch Services

[Flyaway]

They’ll be based in Canada using the 100% Ukrainian Cyclone-4M medium lift launcher.

Maritime Launch Services (MLS) in Canada has received approval to begin construction of Spaceport Nova Scotia within the framework of an Environmental Assessment approved in 2019.

The spaceport in maritime Canada will be the first orbital launch location for the country and will be geared towards service of the medium-lift market using the Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rocket.



MLS President and CEO Stephen Matier spoke directly with NASASpaceflight about the new spaceport, MLS’s goals, community engagement and buy-in from the town of Canso and Guysborough County, and challenges toward getting to the first flight.

“We’re definitely a different animal than a range doing their thing or a launch vehicle company doing their thing. We’re trying to provide a full launch service offering from our location,” said Matier.

MLS is specifically targeting the small- to medium-class launch markets and has gathered 14 letters of intent from different providers, mission integrators, and satellite clients with larger constellations.

With those letters of intent and several rounds of regulatory approvals in place, MLS gained permission in late-August 2022 to begin full-fledged construction of the spaceport.

If things go to plan, the first suborbital launch is scheduled for no earlier than the second quarter of 2023 with Quebec-based Reaction Dynamics and their suborbital vehicle.

The rocket is called Aurora, and while the first launch will be suborbital, the rocket itself is part of a small-class launcher service from Reaction Dynamics, with the orbital version capable of taking 50-150 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO).

All of this is part of a phased expansion that will ultimately see the medium-lift vehicle, called Cyclone-4M, launching up to eight times a year from Spaceport Nova Scotia.

The Cyclone-4M is derived from the Tsyklon-4 rocket and is a Ukrainian vehicle that has been modified from its original design to feature Zenit-derived kerolox first-stage engines to replace the Russian engines of the original design.

Maritime Launch Services breaks ground on Canada's first orbital launch site - NASASpaceFlight.com

Maritime Launch Services (MLS) in Canada has received approval to begin construction of Spaceport Nova…

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