NordSpace has secured $5 million from federal and provincial governments to advance its Atlantic Spaceport Complex near St. Lawrence, adding momentum to the East Coast’s emergence as a national space-launch corridor.

The funding is part of a $10-million investment, half from NordSpace. Ottawa is contributing $1 million, while the province is providing $4 million. The package builds on $8.3 million in federal support announced for the company’s launch vehicle program.

The complex, on the Burin Peninsula, is intended to host Canada’s first commercial space launch vehicles and provide domestic access to orbit.

Newfoundland and Labrador Jobs, Growth and Rural Development Minister Lin Paddock said the St. Lawrence project could attract private-sector investment and open opportunities for businesses and suppliers.

The project puts Newfoundland and Labrador alongside Nova Scotia in Canada’s emerging launch industry. Ottawa earlier committed $200 million to Spaceport Nova Scotia, creating two potential aerospace nodes in the region.

NordSpace has yet to launch a rocket from St. Lawrence. Three attempts to fly its small Taiga test rocket in 2025 were called off because of technical and site-related problems. The company later completed upgrades and recalibration work in Ontario, but no subsequent flight has been reported. As of July 29, Taiga was awaiting federal launch authorization.

Taiga is designed for a brief suborbital flight, meaning it will travel upward and return to Earth without entering orbit. NordSpace’s larger Tundra rocket, which is intended to carry satellites into orbit, remains under development. The company is targeting its first orbital launch for 2028.