Maritime Launch Services (MLS) is a Canadian
space transport
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either human spaceflight, with or uncrewed spaceflight, without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly w ...
services company founded in 2016 and headquartered in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. MLS will rely on Ukrainian
Cyclone-4M
The Cyclone-4M is a Ukrainian carrier rocket which is being developed for commercial satellite launches.
History
The Cyclone-4M is derived from the Tsyklon-4, which started its life as an all-hypergolic three-stage-to-orbit expendable launch v ...
rockets by
Pivdenne
Pivdenne (; ) is a city in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Pivdenne urban hromada, one of the hromada
A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=tery ...
to launch polar and sun synchronous orbit from
Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso is a community in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, next to Chedabucto Bay. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town and as of July 2012 was amalgamated into the Municipality of the Di ...
. MLS is a joint venture of three U.S.-based firms.
Launch site
On March 14, 2017, MLS selected
Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso is a community in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, next to Chedabucto Bay. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town and as of July 2012 was amalgamated into the Municipality of the Di ...
as MLS's launch site. MLS has applied to lease 15 hectares of land outside the town from the provincial Department of Natural Resources, and construction was slated to begin in 2021.
The $110 million rocket spaceport will be used to launch commercial satellites into space with a goal for up to eight launches annually. The site will include a 10-15 metre-tall control centre and rocket assembly facility, with a launch pad positioned 2.4 kilometres away, linked by a custom rail system for rocket transportation. It will be the only operational spaceport in Canada, after the abandonment of the
Churchill Rocket Research Range
The Churchill Rocket Research Range is a former rocket launch site located outside Churchill, Manitoba. The facility was used by Canada and the United States beginning in 1954 for sub-orbital launches of sounding rockets to study the upper atmos ...
in the 1990s, and the first commercial spaceport for orbital launches in the country. It is estimated that construction of the spaceport will take three or four years to complete.
The proposed launch site is approximately 3.5 km south of Canso at , with the Vehicle Processing Facility located approximately 2 km south-west of Canso at .
Service
MLS hopes to launch eight rockets annually with two southward launch options. Option 1 is a Sun-synchronous orbit launch between 600–800 km, for smaller satellites, with a payload up to 3350 kg for US$45 million. Option 2 is a Low Earth Orbit launch, below 600 km in altitude, that will allow a payload up to 5000 kg also for US$45 million.
Rockets
MLS will rely on Ukrainian 2-stage
Cyclone-4M
The Cyclone-4M is a Ukrainian carrier rocket which is being developed for commercial satellite launches.
History
The Cyclone-4M is derived from the Tsyklon-4, which started its life as an all-hypergolic three-stage-to-orbit expendable launch v ...
rockets built by
Pivdenne Design Office. The Cyclone-4M uses a Zenit-derived first stage powered by four Ukrainian-built RD-874 Kerosene/LOX engines and upper stage stack developed for the original hypergolic Cyclone 4 rocket. The first launch of the Cyclone-4M is expected to take place at Canso in 2025.
See also
*
List of spaceports
This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. M ...
*
List of rocket launch sites
This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. M ...
References
External links
*
{{Spaceport
2016 establishments in Nova Scotia
Aerospace companies of Canada
Canadian companies established in 2016
Transport companies established in 2016
Commercial launch service providers
Private spaceflight companies
Space industry companies of Canada
Companies based in Halifax, Nova Scotia