Canada is opening the doors to commercial launch. On Friday, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced that within the next three years, the country will set up the regulatory framework and licensing processes necessary to greenlight domestic launches.
“For many years, Canadian satellites have launched from sites in other countries,” Alghabra said. “It’s time for us to start launching them right here at home.”
The new initiative will happen in two phases:
- An “interim phase,” during which launch companies can apply for launches and gain approval on a case-by-case basis according to existing safety and environmental regulations
- A full rollout, using standard licensing procedures developed by the Canadian government over the next three years
Maritime Launch Services (MLS), a Canadian launch company, broke ground on a spaceport in Nova Scotia last year. Alghabra also said during the conference that Transport Canada has received requests from launchers based in several countries across the world to launch from Canada.
