Canada From Orbit: Hansen Reaches Moon; Canada Rocket Company Lands $8.3M Grant

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Canada From Orbit: Hansen Reaches Moon; Canada Rocket Company Lands $8.3M Grant

Canada From Orbit

Jeremy Hansen Completes Historic Moon Mission; CSA Funds Diversity, Agriculture, and Student Satellites

Jeremy Hansen made history this July when he became the first Canadian to set foot on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis II mission. The Canadian Space Agency marked the milestone on International Moon Day (July 20), celebrating Hansen’s achievement as a defining moment for Canada’s space programme and an inspiration to Canadians, especially young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Canada From Orbit: Hansen Reaches Moon; Canada Rocket Company Lands .3M Grant

While Hansen’s moonwalk commands headlines, the Canadian Space Agency has simultaneously advanced terrestrial and orbital programmes. The CSA awarded a contract worth up to $745,000 to The Growcer Inc. to co-develop a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) unit in partnership with Arctic Fresh Group of Companies, an Inuit-owned enterprise in Nunavut. The project serves dual purposes: supporting astronauts on long-duration lunar missions and improving food security in remote Northern Canadian communities where conventional agriculture faces severe environmental barriers.

The CSA also allocated $120,000 across three new programmes to broaden participation in Canada’s space sector. The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in British Columbia received $20,000 for Indigenous-led sky science workshops that connect traditional knowledge with modern space science. The Pulsar Institute in Nova Scotia received $50,000 to run Space LaunchPad, a national career-development programme targeting underrepresented groups. York University received $50,000 to support women, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities through space robotics training, mission-style challenges, and mentorship.

Canada’s educational space pipeline expanded further when the University of Victoria’s MARMOTSat CubeSat launched successfully aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare mission on July 7. The three-unit satellite, built by 57 students and researchers, will study the ionosphere to better understand how its composition and structure are influenced by climate change. The launch marks a milestone for Canada’s CubeSats Initiative in STEM (CUBICS), which provides hands-on spaceflight experience to the next generation of Canadian space professionals.

Canada’s Commercial Launch Sector Advances Across Three Fronts

NordSpace Opens Atlantic Spaceport Complex; Invests in Defence Tech

NordSpace welcomed government leaders to its Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in Newfoundland and Labrador on July 21, showcasing Rocket Factory 1 (RF-1) construction progress. The visit demonstrated NordSpace’s commitment to building indigenous Canadian orbital and suborbital launch infrastructure. Beyond hardware, NordSpace Ventures announced a strategic investment in North Vector Dynamics (NVD), a Calgary-based defence technology company co-founded by aerospace engineers and led by CEO Paul Ziadé. NVD is developing Canada’s first precision-guided counter-drone missiles and hypersonic capabilities with support from the Department of National Defence. The partnership deepens technical collaboration around NordSpace’s Hadfield-150 methalox engine—designed and manufactured end-to-end in Canada—which underpins both orbital launch vehicles and precision defence systems.

Image shared by @Nord_Space | Source: @Nord_Space

Maritime Launch Partners with Isar Aerospace for Sovereign Access

Maritime Launch Services signed a contract with Germany-based Isar Aerospace to advance orbital launch capability from Spaceport Nova Scotia. Announced at NATO’s Ankara summit in July, the agreement positions Maritime Launch as a platform for sovereign access to space for both Canada and allied nations. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen visited the Spaceport and the adjacent Chedabucto Education Centre in July to speak with students and educators about the importance of launching from Canadian soil to inspire future generations of space professionals.

Image shared by @maritimelaunch | Source: @maritimelaunch

Canada Rocket Company Secures $8.3M from Department of National Defence

Canada Rocket Company (CRC) was awarded an $8.3 million grant by the Department of National Defence’s IDEaS (Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security) Programme following a competitive selection process. The grant will accelerate development of CRC’s responsive light-lift vehicle, which is designed to evolve into a medium-lift platform capable of deploying 6,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit by the early 2030s. According to CRC CEO Hugh Kolias, the award confirms the company’s progress toward delivering sovereign medium-lift launch capabilities by 2034, supporting Canadian defence and allied commitments. The grant reflects the federal government’s recognition of “Space Launch” as one of ten key sovereign capabilities outlined in Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, released in February 2026.

Citations

No launches this week.

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Robo Chris
https://thecanadian.space/meet-robo-chris/

Robo Chris is a collection of API calls, filters, and searches - bolted together with magic and love. He preforms instructed information gathering, and does a fair bit of writing too. Everything he creates gets submitted to our editor-in-chief, actual Chris, for approval and publication!

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