Implementation Phase Begins for Canada's Dedicated Spectrum Rocket Launch Area

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, Canada's Maritime Launch Services and Germany's Isar Aerospace completed the confirmation of the scope of work and project milestones under the new Spaceport Nova Scotia facility use agreement, satisfying the key preconditions in the agreement signed by both parties in July. A new phase of on-site construction has begun, and Isar Aerospace's dedicated launch facility for the Spectrum launch vehicle has moved from the contract planning phase into the concrete implementation phase.

The two parties signed a formal facility use agreement on July 7, under which Isar Aerospace will develop a dedicated Spectrum launch area at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada. Maritime Launch Services is responsible for providing licensed launch site infrastructure, including the launch pad, assembly, integration and test facilities, the launch operations control center, and payload integration facilities; Isar Aerospace is responsible for the development and operation of the Spectrum launch system and its associated dedicated launch capabilities.

The original agreement included multiple execution preconditions, among which the scope of work and project milestones were originally scheduled to be determined by September 1, and were subsequently extended to September 15; the two parties completed this condition on September 14. The agreement also requires the designated launch pad to be handed over to Isar Aerospace by November 1, 2026, and plans to complete other related spaceport infrastructure by December 31, 2027, establishing site conditions for the first orbital launches from Canada in 2028.

The facility use agreement has a term of 10 years, with Isar Aerospace holding options to extend it twice for 5 years each. Under the contract's commercial arrangements, Maritime Launch Services will in principle charge US$3.75 million per quarter during the term of the agreement, with a 30-month fee waiver period after the end of the first year; actual launch missions will also be charged separately on a cost-plus basis according to the relevant services.

The project plans to begin Spectrum orbital launches in 2028, and after operational ramp-up, to build a potential capacity of up to approximately 40 launches per year in 2029. Spaceport Nova Scotia is located on Canada's Atlantic coast and can cover orbital inclinations of approximately 45.1 degrees to 98.1 degrees, and supports polar orbit and sun-synchronous orbit missions. Isar Aerospace previously completed Spectrum's second qualification flight at Andøya Spaceport in Norway and achieved orbit insertion and payload deployment, and the Canadian facility will become another piece of its orbital launch infrastructure.