When discussing the prospects of a Canadian military expansion or Canadian space capabilities, some veer toward hopelessness, as if Canada can’t make progress.
This stems from a twisting of Canadian humility, which, while often a quite positive trait, can sometimes manifest as downplaying our potential.
We need to change this.
Now is a time for ambition, for supporting Canadians who dream big.
NordSpace – a Canadian company working to provide Canada with independent rocket launch capability – is one such group of ambitious Canadians worth supporting.
Maritime Launch Services – a Canadian-owned firm building Canada’s first commercial spaceport – is another.
And progress is being made.
On June 3rd, Maritime Launch Services announced a collaboration with T-Minus Engineering B.V., a Dutch aerospace firm. T-Minus will be launching its Barracuda hypersonic test platform in October of this year.
As noted in the announcement, there is a defence component to the collaboration:
This mission will represent the next step in advancing Spaceport Nova Scotia’s suborbital and hypersonic testing capabilities, as Maritime Launch continues to establish Nova Scotia, Canada, as a hub for innovative space commercialization, research, and development. The Barracuda platform, developed by T-Minus, facilitates high-speed, high-altitude experiments for civil and defence applications.
I wanted to bring attention to this because it counters the idea that Canada isn’t capable of developing new capabilities or that we can’t become a bigger military and economic player on the world stage.
That attitude is not only counterproductive but also objectively false.
What our country needs to do is start highlighting Canadian firms and individuals who are trying to bring us into the future, and put real money and support behind them.
You can read more about Maritime Launch Services here.
Spencer Fernando
Image – SpaceCanada
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