Canadians Eye Cape Breton, Fort Churchill as Launch Ranges

Cape Breton, Fort Churchill eyed for satellite launches
The Canadian Press

Cape Breton may become a Canadian version of Florida’s historic Cape Canaveral where astronauts and rockets have been launched into outer space for decades.

The Canadian Space Agency is looking at the Nova Scotia island as one of two possible sites to blast small satellites into orbit using an indigenous rocket launch system. The other possible micro-satellite launch site is Fort Churchill in Manitoba, near Hudson Bay, where hundreds of small research rockets have been launched in the past….

A Cape Breton location also has the support of a Canadian-American consortium which announced its own plans several years ago to develop a launch pad for space tourism. Geoff Sheerin, an official with Chicago-based PlanetSpace, said in an email “the Canadian Maritimes are an excellent place to launch rockets.” But, citing legal reasons, he would not elaborate on the current status of his own company’s project.

PlanetSpace is looking at setting up its space port north of Sydney Mines and has held discussions with Nova Scotia Business Inc., a provincial business development agency.

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