Not long ago, several Canadian firms were working on small rockets, yet the sector drew little notice beyond a few space enthusiasts in the country. The field held some promise for the future, though the wider public remained largely unaware of it.
What set things off wasn’t a scientific advance. It was political pressure. The Trump Administration began threatening and putting tariffs on goods coming from Canada. There was talk of treating Canada as though it were the 51st state. Canadians kept telling me how upset they were with their neighbors to the south, and it’s hard to find fault with them.
The Canadian government has now reconsidered a wide range of sectors where it was content to depend heavily on the US government and American firms for goods and services. Among these is the ability to reach space on its own terms. As a result, this spring the government announced the first awards to three companies—NordSpace, Reaction Dynamics, and Canada Rocket Company—to back work on rockets with “light lift” capability.
The Initial Awards Were Modest
The first round of grants under Launch the North was limited to $8.33 million CAD. But the government has indicated that bigger awards are planned for later stages. That is significant because one of the three companies involved, Toronto-based Canada Rocket Company, chose to bypass the small-rocket stage entirely and proceed straight toward a more ambitious medium-launch vehicle.
After a great deal of discussion, the choice to expand was made. According to the company’s founder, Hugh Kolias, the counsel behind it came from conversations with roughly 150 engineers, ranging from the director of Starship engineering right down to certain entry-level staff.
Why Skip the Small Rocket?
Kolias’s reasoning is straightforward: engineers told him a small rocket wouldn’t can’t be used to settle anything. The quicker way is to build a larger rocket from the beginning.
Who Got the Money
The three awardees each took a different approach:
- NordSpace received an award as part of Launch the North.
- Reaction Dynamics received an award as part of Launch the North.
- Canada Rocket Company skipped the small-rocket phase and moved into a medium-launch vehicle.
What the Government Has Signaled
Awards on a larger scale are being signaled by the government. This means the $8.33 million CAD figure represents an opening bid rather than a cap. Canada Rocket Company has made the choice to move toward a medium-launch vehicle, and that choice rests on the assumption that the government will underwrite it.
What Comes Next
Whether this represents a genuine change or merely a reaction to a noisy neighbor, the coming years will decide. Canada’s government has stated its desire for independent access to space. But whether that translates into functioning rockets remains to be seen.
A nation that barely paid attention to its launch industry just a year or two back is now taking it seriously. The change came from politics, not technology. And the drive behind it has grown faster than anyone could have guessed.
Whether that ambition holds depends on funding and engineering.
Source material: “As US relations fray, Canada gets serious about its own launch industry,” Ars Technica.
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