Canadian Maritime Launch Services to build launch pad for Ukrainian carrier rockets in Canada
Canadian Maritime Launch Services Ltd. (MLS) plans to begin launching commercial satellites using Ukrainian Cyclone-4M carrier rockets in 2020.
The launch complex for the Ukrainian carrier rocket is set to be built in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
According to the MLS press release, the launch complex, in concert with municipal and federal authorities in Canada, will be built in the uninhabited area of Canso-Hazel Hill in northeastern Nova Scotia.
According to John Isella, Executive Director of MLS, the first launch of a Cyclone-4M carrier rocket will take place in 2020, and by 2022 the company plans to launch at least eight rockets a year.
Isella stated that despite the “regulation, approval, and planning” that still lie ahead for the project, MLS is confident in the marketing prospects of the program.
“The Cyclone-4M will become the industry standard for medium-range rockets,” he said.
The initial financing for the program was provided in 2016 by one of the founders of MLS, the American company United Paradyne Corporation (UPC), according to reports.
MLS plans to provide services to put satellites weighing up to five tons into low Earth orbit and satellites weighing up to 3.35 tons in solar synchronous orbit. The estimated cost of a launch will be $45 million. The key partners on the project with MLS are the Ukrainian government enterprises Yuzhnoe Design Office and Yuzhmash (Dnipropetrovsk).