Isar Aerospace is betting big. Big enough to span two continents. They signed a deal with Canada’s Maritime Launch Services to use the Spaceport Nova Scotia site. It costs $150 million. A 10-year lease, with an option to go another decade.
They aren’t just renting a parking spot. Isar gets to design the pad itself. The infrastructure needs to fit their Spectrum rocket specifically. Maritime Launch Services (MLS) provides the land, the facilities for integrating the vehicle, testing areas, and a mission control hub. Basically, Isar brings the rocket; Canada provides the stage.
Construction starts later this year. They’re aiming for 2028. That’s when the first orbital launches are supposed to happen from this new home.
Alexandre Dalloneau, their VP of mission ops, sees it as a strategic leap. “Canada is the next step… to bring full end-to-end launch Capability to sovereign nations,” he said. Proud of it too. Doing it in Canada, with Canada.
By 2029? They want forty launches from that pad. Forty.
MLS thinks the partnership makes sense. Stephen Matier, the CEO there, called it about creating reliable orbital services. Combining Isar’s tech with Nova Scotia’s licensed space.
Spaceport Nova isn’t the only player in town. It’s a multi-user center. Designed to expand if customers show up. NordSpace, another Canadian company, is building their own flexible pad nearby. Neither has hit orbit yet, though. Neither has proved the concept works on a global stage.
Isar? They have a try. March 2025. Norway.
The Spectru rocket launched. Cleared the tower. Then it started to tumble. It didn’t stay up long. It came back down as fire and debris.
They tried again since then. Several times. Scrubbed by weather. Scrubbed by tech issues. The rocket stays in the hangar more often than it leaves.
But the expansion in Canada keeps moving. Dalloneau views this international move as vital, even if the rocket keeps falling down. Maybe he believes location solves physics. Or maybe he just really likes the Nova Scotia real estate.
