MDA Space will support the development and future operations of the Nova Scotia Spaceport.
Brampton-based MDA Space is investing $10 million in Sea launch servicesone of the Canadian companies building a spaceport on the east coast.
The investment will be used for research and development work related to the development of the Maritime Launch spaceport under construction in Nova Scotia, the company said in a statement. The deal also marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between the two Canadian space companies, with MDA Space looking forward to becoming an operating partner of the spaceport and supporting its development and future operations.
“Establishing a sovereign launch capacity in Canada that will respond to global demand for alternative launch capacity on Atlantic Canada is essential.”
“By combining MDA Space's world-class technical heritage with our operational focus at Spaceport Nova Scotia, we are delivering the experiences our launch vehicle customers demand: reliability, responsiveness and mission-wide integration,” Maritime Launch President and CEO Stephen Mathieu said in a statement.
Maritime Launch is building a spaceport in Nova Scotia near Canso, North Carolina, about 300 kilometers east of Halifax. It will provide satellite launch services to both Canadian and global customers.
MDA acquired its stake in Maritime Launch at a price of $0.223 per share, representing approximately a 50 per cent premium to Maritime Launch's pre-announcement closing price of $0.15 per share on the Cboe Canada Stock Exchange. The deal provides MDA Space with certain rights, including the right to appoint a member of the board of directors of Maritime Launch and proportionate rights to participate in future financing of the spaceport.
“In a rapidly changing space industry, it is important to establish a sovereign launch capability in Canada that will respond to global demand for alternative launch capabilities on Atlantic Canada,” MDA Space CEO Mike Greenlee said in a statement. “This is an example of strategically located critical infrastructure that is needed.”
Maritime Launch said Spaceport Nova Scotia will be Canada's first commercial orbital launch facility. Project encountered delaysHowever, the MDA deal is just one example of how the company is raising capital for a project. Last week he received $10 million. senior line of credit from Export Development Canada (EDC). The company received an investment of about $1 million from a rocket company based in Longueuil, Quebec. Reaction dynamics in August.
CONNECTED: Maritime Launch received a $10 million loan from EDC to build a spaceport in Nova Scotia
Founded in 2016, Maritime Launch is competing in the commercial space race on Atlantic Canada with Markham, Ontario-based NordSpace. broke the ground in August at a site it says will facilitate Canada's first commercial launch into space in Newfoundland. The Atlantic Spaceport (ASX) complex is located near the small town of St. Lawrence, NL, on the southeast coast of the province and approximately 350 km from St. John's.
MDA Space, a space technology contractor and the company behind Canadarm3faced some business challenges of its own this year. In September, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, swooped in deny MDA a C$1.8 billion contract with US telecommunications company EchoStar, causing MDA shares to plummet on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). SpaceX Threat Sends MDA Share Prices Down again last week after Bloomberg reported this. that Globalstar, an MDA company, signed a deal worth $1.1 billion in Februaryheld early discussions with Musk's company about a potential sale.
At market close on Monday, MDA was trading at $27.40 per share on the TSX, a significant drop from the 52-week high of $48.31 per share it reached before losing the EchoStar deal.
Image courtesy of NASA via Unsplash.
