Down at Starbase in Texas, SpaceX completed a “flight-like wet dress rehearsal” by filling Starship and its Super Heavy Booster with propellants for the first time.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Maritime Launch Services has debuted on the NEO Exchange, become the latest space company to go public on a stock exchange without any revenues (losses, actually) while avoiding the “rigmarole” (Richard Branson’s words, not mine) associated with a traditional initial public offering (IPO).

In addition to a lack of revenues and a crowded launcher market, there’s another question hanging over the company that nobody can answer right now: exactly what are they going to launch from the spaceport they’re building in Nova Scotia? The Cyclone 4M booster they plan to use is built in Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russia.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Maritime Launch Services PR) – Maritime Launch Services, one of Canada’s leading aerospace firms and the owner of the country’s first commercial spaceport, Spaceport Nova Scotia, announced today the creation of Maritime Launch USA Inc., a wholly-owned American subsidiary of the Canadian-owned and operated Maritime Launch Services Ltd., to be led by space industry veteran Robert Feierbach.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, November 19th, 2021 (Maritime Launch Services/Nanoracks PR) – Maritime Launch Services, one of Canada’s leading aerospace firms and the owner of the country’s first commercial spaceport, announced that Nanoracks, a Voyager Space company and the leading commercial payload provider to the International Space Station (ISS), will serve as the company’s first client when Spaceport Nova Scotia’s operations go live in 2023. For this first mission, Nanoracks will deploy customer SmallSats and host spacecraft technology demonstrations.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 26, 2021 (Martime Launch Services PR) – Maritime Launch Services Ltd. (“MLS” or the “Company”), owner of Canada’s first commercial spaceport, is pleased to announce that it has selected a number of Nova Scotian firms to advance design and preparations for construction of the launch complex located near Canso, Nova Scotia.

“We have selected a number of local firms across Nova Scotia to support Maritime Launch in building a state-of-the-art, world-class launch complex,” said Stephen Matier, President and CEO of MLS. “With initial financing in hand, we have begun hiring members of our executive leadership team and we are accelerating work so we can break ground on construction of the complex in the fall.” The preparation efforts include work for Strum Consulting, Stantec, Lloyd’s Register, Nova Construction, Lindsay Construction Management, St. Francis Xavier University, and others.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, May 12th, 2021 (Maritime Launch Services PR)—Maritime Launch Services Ltd. (“MLS” or the “Company”), owner of Canada’s first commercial spaceport, is pleased to announce that it has closed financing for gross proceeds of $10.5 million [US $8.67 million].

The financing was led by PowerOne Capital Markets Limited and Primary Capital Inc. The proceeds of this financing will enable MLS to achieve first flight heritage in 2022 of a small class launcher and mature the site and the Cyclone 4M medium class launch vehicle for launch in 2023 from its state-of-the-art complex near Canso, Nova Scotia.  With construction to begin this fall, Maritime Launch’s commercial launch complex will be the first of its kind in Canada.

KIEV (Ukraine State Space Agency PR) — On June 26, 2020, the second stage of the final refinement tests of the single-chamber liquid rocket engine RD861K, developed by SE Pivdenne and manufactured by VO PMZ, was successfully completed at stand No. 1 of VO PMZ.

DNIPRO, Ukraine (Yuzhnoye SDO/Maritime Launch Services PR) — The Cyclone 4 fully-integrated upper stage, destined for the Cyclone 4M rocket to be launched from Nova Scotia, Canada, has successfully undergone the 7000 series qualification profile on August 23, 2019. This was followed by a second full duration burn profile on August 30, 2019.

The CBC reports that the Nova Scotia Environmental Department has given an approval with conditions for the construction of a spaceport where Ukrainian Cylcone 4M launch vehicles would operate. Environment Minister Gordon Wilson said he was satisfied any significant environmental effects of the Maritime Launch Services (MLS) project could be mitigated with compliance to the department’s conditions. “I think we’ve made the right decision on ensuring that all the environmental […]

Cyclone 4M booster

Nova Scotia has said that Maritime Launch Services must address  a range of environmental concerns about the proposed Canso Spaceport Facility before provincial authorities will approve the project, Canadian media report.

In the documents provided Wednesday, Neil Morehouse, a manager in the province’s Environment Department, says there is little in the proposal addressing how an explosion, crash or fuel leak would affect the nearby Canso Coastal Barrens Wilderness Area.

Morehouse says a spill would “destroy the impacted ecosystems with no chance of recovery within the next several hundred years.”
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