As the only G7 nation without its own launch capabilities, Canada is eager to have a Canadian-made 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.
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.
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. 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. They power telecommunications, as well as military uses like threat detection, and for earth observation like wildfire tracking.
If Canada doesn’t control its own launches, Boucher says the fear is that foreign entities could refuse to launch Canadian 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.
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.
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. Its first suborbital rocket test launch attempt in 2025 was unsuccessful, but the company says it plans to try again soon, possibly within weeks.
NordSpace’s suborbital rocket on the launchpad in 2025. The company’s first attempt to launch the vessel in summer 2025 was unsuccessful, but it’s preparing to try again soon. (Peter Cowan/CBC)
Reaction Dynamics was another. That company has been working on a unique engine design since 2017.
Both NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics are working to get rockets to orbit by 2028, in line with the government’s target.
Canada Rocket Company — the newest player — rounds out the 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.
Hugh Kolias, founder of Canada Rocket Company, is pictured in the company’s Etobicoke headquarters on Sept. 23. 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. (Laura MacNaughton/CBC)
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.
It will take time and lots of testing to build such a vessel, and the target for a first launch isn’t until 2032.
Kolias says his firm has attracted $22 million in private investment on top of the government 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.
“We have the skillsets … because Canada produces a lot of good engineers. But where we’ve been lacking is funding,” Boucher said.
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.
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. (Submitted by Canada Rocket Company)
Fly away, Falcon 9
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.
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.
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. 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.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2025. 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. (John Raoux/The Associated Press)
Canadian satellite communications company Kepler has launched the majority of its 33 satellites on the Falcon 9.
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. But smaller players could feel the pinch of less rideshare 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. “That’s a huge problem for the industry.”
The Falcon wind-down only makes having a Canadian rocket maker more important, Mitry adds.
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.
A long way from liftoff
At NordSpace, CEO Rahul Goel is more cautiously optimistic.
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.”
He says the attention on his industry and the funding his company has received is positive. But he worries it could go away again soon, and is rushing to establish launch capabilities in case that happens.
Rahul Goel, founder and CEO of NordSpace, says he is proud to be launching an all-Canadian made and built rocket from Canadian soil, particularly at a time when there’s been an increase in nationalism. (Anand Ram/CBC News)
“I’ve seen how quickly the tides can turn and I know how quickly the tides can turn back,” Goel said.
Boucher of SpaceQ estimates it could take upwards of $50 million to get a rocket that’s reliably launching from Canada. He says more private and public money for each of the companies will likely be needed to reach orbit — especially on the tight 2028 timeline.
“This is not a short-term thing. This is a long-term play,” Boucher said. “It took SpaceX … years before they got their first successful launch. It’s going to take several years before we get to the point where we see regular launches from Canada.”
