> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Newfoundland Spaceport Secures $20M DND Access Deal for 10 Years - URL: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/newfoundland-spaceport-dnd-deal/ - Published: 2026-10-23T01:32:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T01:43:42.000Z - Description: Newfoundland's spaceport secures a $20-million DND access deal, giving Canada priority launch readiness for the next 10 years. - Author: Steve Cogbill - Tags: Daily News, Newfoundland & Labrador | Sourced from 5 independent sources · no points in dispute | | --------------------------------------------------------- | Winnipeg Free Press, SpaceQ, Canadian Defence Review, BetaKit, and SaltWire Every key fact in this report is confirmed by more than one independent source. 7 key facts · 7 corroborated · none disputed This summary is compiled from the independent sources listed above. The Department of National Defence has signed a 10-year, $20-million facility-access agreement with NordSpace for the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and Labrador. The complex remains under construction. The agreement gives DND priority access to a launch pad at the complex in St. Lawrence, on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. NordSpace says it has entered the second phase of construction. ## NordSpace's sovereign launch plans For NordSpace, the deal relates to its effort to build a Canadian launch capability from the ground up. “A sovereign spacefaring Canada must be able to launch payloads into orbit from its own soil, on its own rocket,” Rahul Goel, NordSpace’s chief executive officer, said in a company release. The agreement has been described in terms of sovereign launch. A separate federal government statement described the contract as part of more than $3 billion in defence investments this year intended to strengthen Canada’s sovereign space capabilities and build a stronger Canadian space sector. The deal itself is not a purchase of launches. Instead, the $20 million is intended to cover the minimum cost of maintaining the facility, its related systems and standby readiness over the decade-long term. ## Funding readiness, not missions That distinction is reflected in the agreement. Individual launch missions are excluded from the facility-access funding and will be handled through separate contracts. In other words, DND is paying to secure access and keep the site prepared, while any specific mission would require its own agreement. NordSpace said the arrangement is designed to support the facility’s readiness over the full 10 years. The company has presented that readiness as part of a broader Canadian-controlled launch system, with Goel saying Canada needs the ability to launch “on its own schedule, from its own soil, on its own rocket when national security demands it.” DND has priority access to a pad at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex, which NordSpace says remains under construction. ## McGuinty announces agreement at SpaceBound Defence Minister David McGuinty announced the agreement at the SpaceBound conference, where he connected launch access to the military’s wider needs in space. “It lets us and our partners use the site for launches and research and development over the next 10 years,” McGuinty said. “Sovereign launch means Canada can replace damaged or threatened systems on our own terms and on our own timelines.” McGuinty said the government is investing in monitoring and surveillance, space domain awareness, secure satellite communications and sovereign space launch. The minister also said early capabilities should not define the limit of Canada’s ambitions. Small satellites and launch vehicles, he said, are “where we start; they’re not where we stop.” At the same conference, Brig.-Gen. Brendan Cook, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s director general of space, combat and support, argued that keeping intellectual property and high-end work in Canada can create more than a military capability. “And industrial capacity is about building options for government, for their sovereign choices in the future,” Cook said. “A strong economy, that’s underpinned with a strong military. That’s what gives Canada the choice to make options when it wants to.” For now, the agreement provides priority access to a launch pad in St. Lawrence, with individual missions handled through separate contracts. **Reader-funded. No ads. No paywall.** The Canada Report is independent, reader-funded Canadian news — no advertisers, nothing behind a paywall, kept free for everyone. If you value it, you can help keep it that way. [Support The Canada Report →](https://www.thecanadareport.ca/support/) --- [*Source 1*](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2026/10/22/nordspace-signs-20-million-deal-with-national-defence-for-rocket-launch-pad-in-n-l?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 2*](https://spaceq.ca/spacebound-2026-defence-nordspace-capital/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 3*](https://canadiandefencereview.com/dnd-signs-20m-spaceport-agreement-with-nordspace/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 4*](https://betakit.com/canadian-military-signs-20-million-contract-with-nordspace-for-access-to-newfoundland-spaceport/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 5*](https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/nl-spaceport-20-million-agreement?ref=thecanadareport.ca) ## Sign up for The Canada Report Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Your modern digest of Canadian news. Friendly, clear, and in your inbox.