Canada can't launch rockets on its own.
asserted
Canada → launch → own
A handful of companies want to change that
The newest Canadian rocket builder is targeting 2032 for the first launch of its medium-lift vessel
As the only G7 nation without its own launch capabilities, Canada is eager to have a Canadian-made rocket.
asserted
Canada → want → rocket
A handful of Canadian companies are racing to give the country its own way to space as quickly as possible — at the same time that some SpaceX customers worry the industry giant could soon give fewer rides into orbit.
uncertain
giant → race → orbit
But the rocket companies are working to complete an expensive task under a tight deadline and ever-changing government priorities, making the journey to space anything but simple.
asserted
journey → work → space
Because Canada has no ability to launch rockets itself, customers in this country — both private companies and governments — are dependent on outside forces to put their satellites in orbit.
asserted
customers → have → orbit
They're often American ones — namely SpaceX, which launched all 12 Canadian satellites sent up in 2025, according to Canadian industry publication SpaceQ.
And those pieces of technology are critical, says Marc Boucher, founder of the Canadian space publication SpaceQ.
uncertain
Boucher → launch → publication
They power telecommunications, as well as military uses like threat detection, and for earth observation like wildfire tracking.
asserted
They → power → tracking
If Canada doesn't control its own launches, Boucher says the fear is that foreign entities could refuse to launch Canadian tech.
uncertain
entities → control → tech
A sovereign solution
The Canadian government named space as a key sovereign capability in its February Defence Industrial Strategy and introduced legislation in April that would allow the government to authorize launches from Canadian soil if passed.
asserted
government → name → soil
Funding has flowed in recent months, too, including $8.3 million each for three Canadian companies working on rockets, as part of a multi-year contest aimed at achieving light-lift rocket capabilities by 2028.
asserted
Funding → flow → 2028
NordSpace — a company launched in 2022, focused on building satellites and robotic space technologies as well as the launch pad and rocket to get them off the ground — was one of them.
asserted
NordSpace → launch → them
Its first suborbital rocket test launch attempt in 2025 was unsuccessful, but the company says it plans to try again soon, possibly within weeks.
uncertain
it → say → weeks
The company's first attempt to launch the vessel in summer 2025 was unsuccessful, but it's preparing to try again soon.
asserted
it → launch → summer
That company has been working on a unique engine design since 2017.
asserted
company → work → 2017
Both NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics are working to get rockets to orbit by 2028, in line with the government's target.
asserted
rockets → work → target
Canada Rocket Company — the newest player — rounds out the three.
asserted
Company → round → three
CEO Hugh Kolias founded Canada Rocket Company late last year with the goal of building a medium-lift rocket — a middle-size category that can carry potentially dozens of satellites into low Earth orbit at once — powered by nine methalox-fuelled engines.
asserted
that → found → engines
Hugh Kolias, founder of Canada Rocket Company, is pictured in the company's Etobicoke headquarters on Sept. 23.
asserted
Kolias → picture → Sept.
With newfound attention from the Canadian government on space sovereignty and the help of private funding, Kolias says he is confident his team can make it to space by 2032.
asserted
team → say → 2032
The company has hired dozens of engineers — many of them from top rocket firms like SpaceX and Blue Origin — and is building a $30-million test facility in London, Ont., to help meet that goal.
asserted
company → hire → goal
It will take time and lots of testing to build such a vessel, and the target for a first launch isn't until 2032.
asserted
target → take → 2032
Kolias says his firm has attracted $22 million in private investment on top of the government cash.
asserted
firm → say → cash
He and Boucher both say funding has long been an obstacle in Canada that's made the already expensive and difficult task of building rockets extra challenging.
"
asserted
task → say → rockets
We have the skillsets … because Canada produces a lot of good engineers.
asserted
Canada → have → engineers
But where we've been lacking is funding," Boucher said.
asserted
Boucher → lack → ?
But with private and public funds flowing, Kolias is optimistic that tide has turned — even if some other CEOs and experts are more cautiously hopeful.
asserted
CEOs → flow → ?
Executives of Canada Rocket Company and other attendees toss the first shovels of dirt at the groundbreaking of the firm's test facility under construction in London, Ont.
asserted
Executives → toss → London
At the same time, SpaceX plans to eventually scale back its Falcon 9 rocket as it transitions to a bigger vessel called Starship, according to Elon Musk — a worry for customers who rely on the company to get their satellites to space, but a potential opportunity for emerging rocket makers.
uncertain
who → plan → makers
SpaceX's reusable, medium-lift Falcon 9 transports the company's own Starlink satellites to space, as well as those of other companies at a cost.
asserted
Falcon → transport → cost
The company has reportedly started turning away satellite customers looking to launch on the Falcon 9 past 2028 as it shifts to the new rocket.
uncertain
it → start → rocket
That's especially concerning for smaller players who rely on SpaceX's rideshare program, which allows multiple companies to send up one or two satellites each on a shared rocket.
asserted
companies → rely → rocket
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2025.
asserted
rocket → lift → Sept.
The Falcon 9 has become the workhorse of the launch industry, and its eventual phaseout has some customers worried about how they'll get to space.
asserted
they → become → space
Canadian satellite communications company Kepler has launched the majority of its 33 satellites on the Falcon 9.
asserted
Kepler → launch → Falcon
CEO Mina Mitry, who is an adviser to Canada Rocket Company, says he expects SpaceX competitors — including Rocket Lab, which he's already secured a future ride with — will be able to take up some of that demand.
asserted
he → say → demand
But smaller players could feel the pinch of less rideshare access.
uncertain
players → feel → access
"If you're looking to launch one, two, three satellites on an experimental basis, your barrier to entry now has grown significantly," Mitry said.
asserted
Mitry → look → entry
The Falcon wind-down only makes having a Canadian rocket maker more important, Mitry adds.
asserted
Mitry → make → maker
And with its medium-lift rocket aimed at the same market as the Falcon 9, Kolias is hoping Canada Rocket Company can capture some of the market SpaceX leaves behind once it moves on to the bigger Starship vessel.
asserted
it → aim → vessel
Goel had dreamed of building rockets since childhood, but says he spent the first decade of his career building another company and making his own millions to invest in NordSpace "because nobody would write a cheque."
asserted
nobody → dream → cheque
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
