Ukraine and Canada have announced the start of construction of a joint space launch pad in the province of Nova Scotia (Canada). This was announced by the chairman of the State Space Agency Volodymyr Taftay on Facebook.

Canada and Ukraine begin construction of a cosmodrome in Nova Scotia, the construction of a space launch pad was announced. The presentation and ceremony took place in Halifax (Canada), November 19, 2021, with the participation of the Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Volodymyr Taftay, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada Francois-Philippe Champagne, Member of the Canadian Parliament Sean Fraser, President of the Canadian Space Agency Lisa Campbell, Nova Scotia Minister of Economic Development Susan Corkum Grick and others.

According to him, the project envisages the creation on the Atlantic coast of the province of Nova Scotia of a commercial cosmodrome for the Cyclone-4M carrier rocket designed and manufactured by the Ukrainian state enterprise Yuzhnoye State Design Office and Production Association Yuzhnoye Machine-Building Plant named after. A. M. Makarov". Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rockets will be able to launch up to 5 tons of payload into low-earth orbit. In the future, the company will launch 8 rockets per year.

The project will be implemented by the Canadian company Maritime Launch Services Ltd (MLS).

Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Volodymyr Taftay in his speech noted the importance of the project not only for the development of space cooperation between Ukraine and Canada, but also for further strengthening the traditionally friendly and partnership relations between two states as a whole.

The implementation of this program will allow, among other things, to ensure the development of the latest instruments, technologies and means for entering promising international projects, in particular the exploration of the Moon, to expand cooperation with the European Space Agency in order to gain Ukraine's membership in this organization, and so on.

Volodymyr Taftay

Yuzhnoye State Design Office chief designer Maxim Degtyarev said in June that the company plans to start the first launches of the Ukrainian carrier rocket from a cosmodrome in Canada in 3 years.

The command center of the future Space Launch Pad will be named after Alexander Degtyarev, the former head of Yuzhnoye State Enterprise. Also on the eve of the space agencies of Ukraine and Canada signed a joint statement to celebrate the partnership.