Canada From Orbit: Canada’s Moment in Orbit: Artemis Launch Looms and Sovereign Space Takes Flight

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Canada From Orbit: Canada’s Moment in Orbit: Artemis Launch Looms and Sovereign Space Takes Flight

Canada From Orbit

Canadian Space Agency News

April 1, 2026, could mark a historic milestone for Canada: the launch of CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission—the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years. As of March 31, NASA confirmed the mission remains “go” for liftoff at 6:24 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center, with an 80% favourable weather forecast. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are fully stacked on Launch Pad 39B, and the crew—Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch—entered pre-launch quarantine on March 18.

Should the launch proceed as scheduled, Hansen will become the first Canadian to travel beyond low Earth orbit, fulfilling nearly two decades of training since his 2009 selection. His presence reflects Canada’s critical role in the Artemis programme, anchored by the Canadarm3 robotic system slated for the Lunar Gateway. Though Gateway’s construction has recently paused, CSA President Lisa Campbell affirmed the agency’s readiness to adapt as Artemis evolves toward a sustained lunar presence.

The CSA has been actively engaging the public in the lead-up. Live coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. EDT on CSA’s YouTube and Facebook channels. Notably, King Charles III sent Hansen a personal letter acknowledging Canada’s contribution—a gesture Hansen called “deeply touching.”

Post-launch, Canadians can expect live downlink events with Hansen on April 4, 5, and 8 while the crew orbits in cislunar space. These broadcasts will offer a rare opportunity to hear directly from a Canadian as he circles the Moon.

Canada From Orbit: Canada’s Moment in Orbit: Artemis Launch Looms and Sovereign Space Takes Flight

Nord Space News

While NordSpace was named one of three recipients of the Department of National Defence’s “Launch the North” initiative in March 2026, details about its development timeline remain limited. The company is advancing plans for its Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and will receive $8.3 million in initial funding to mature its small launch vehicle design, with a goal of achieving operational status by 2028.

Notably, the DND opted to lease a dedicated pad at Maritime Launch Services’ Spaceport Nova Scotia rather than NordSpace’s site for its immediate sovereign launch needs. Defence Minister David McGuinty offered only a brief rationale, stating, “They’re a good company, and we work with good companies,” when asked about the selection.

Despite this, NordSpace’s inclusion in the $105 million Launch the North programme signals strong government support for a diversified domestic launch ecosystem. The company’s focus on responsive, small-lift capabilities aligns with Canada’s growing defence and Earth observation satellite needs.

Maritime Launch Services News

Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has secured a landmark 10-year, $200 million lease agreement with Canada’s Department of National Defence for a dedicated launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso. Announced on March 16, 2026, the deal mandates that 90% of funds be spent within Canada, bolstering domestic aerospace supply chains and rural employment in Guysborough County.

The dedicated pad is expected to reach initial operational readiness by the end of 2026, though no specific launch date has been set for the first DND mission. MLS CEO Stephen Matier emphasized that the spaceport offers “safe over-ocean launch corridors and access to highly sought-after orbital inclinations,” positioning it as a strategic asset for both national security and commercial customers.

MLS also welcomed INNOSPACE of South Korea, which signed a letter of intent in March to explore launching its HANBIT rocket from Nova Scotia. This international interest, coupled with MLS’s recent appointment of an interim finance leadership team, underscores growing momentum as the company moves toward becoming Canada’s first operational orbital launch site.

Interior of Spaceport Nova Scotia's Launch Control Centre

Canadian News From Orbit

Beyond launch infrastructure, Canadian companies are making waves in satellite communications and quantum sensing. Telesat is expanding its Lightspeed ground segment with new landing stations in Estevan and Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, and Papineauville, Quebec. These sites—expected to be operational by year’s end—will support the planned 2027 global rollout of its 198-satellite low Earth orbit broadband constellation, built by MDA Space with optical inter-satellite links.

Meanwhile, telco TELUS has joined Bell in backing AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-smartphone network, which promises unmodified cellular coverage in Canada’s remotest regions by late 2026. BlueBird-7, the next AST satellite, is scheduled to launch later this month aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

In a major scientific milestone, Sherbrooke-based SBQuantum successfully deployed its diamond quantum magnetometer on March 31 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-16 rideshare mission from Vandenberg. The sensor, part of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s MagQuest Challenge, could revolutionize navigation by enabling GPS-independent positioning—a capability now designated a “Key Sovereign Capability” under Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy.

SBQuantum team with their diamond quantum magnetometer

Citations

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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