# Canada builds its own rocket industry

> Tensions with the US push Canada to develop sovereign space launch capability, with one company aiming for orbit by 2032.
- Title: Canada builds its own rocket industry · Ars Technica
- Summary: Tensions with the US push Canada to develop sovereign space launch capability, with one company aiming for orbit by 2032. Canada is investing in domestic…
- Keywords: canada, space launch, canada rocket company, sovereign capability, us relations, medium-lift vehicle, r-2 rocket, technology, science, builds, own, rocket
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/10/as-us-relations-fray-canada-gets-serious-about-its-own-launch-industry
- Published: 2026-10-01T15:30:49+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: canada, space launch, canada rocket company, sovereign capability, us relations, medium-lift vehicle, r-2 rocket, technology, science
## Canada's space industry wakes up
A year ago, Canadian launch companies were developing small rockets but attracted little attention. Trump administration tariffs and tensions with the US changed that calculation entirely.
## Government backs three rocket companies
This spring, Canada announced initial awards of eight point three three million Canadian dollars to NordSpace, Reaction Dynamics, and Canada Rocket Company to develop light lift rockets.
## Canada Rocket Company goes bigger
Toronto-based Canada Rocket Company decided to skip small rockets and build a medium-launch vehicle instead, after consulting one hundred fifty engineers who said smaller rockets would not reduce development risk.

> essentially 90 percent of everything you do on that light lift piece gets thrown out the window, and it's almost like a net new program
## The R-2 rocket takes shape
Canada Rocket Company is developing the R-2, a medium-lift vehicle with nine methane-fueled engines and landing legs for reuse. It could carry up to twelve point five metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
## Launch target is 2032
Hugh Kolias, chief executive of Canada Rocket Company, said the company could be ready to launch the R-2 by twenty thirty-two if development goes well.
## Sovereignty becomes a priority
Canada unveiled a Defense Industrial Strategy this year that lists space launch as one of ten core capabilities. The country has relied on US rockets for decades after canceling the Avro Arrow in nineteen fifty-nine.
## Potential half-billion dollar commitment
Kolias said the Canadian government might eventually put as much as half a billion dollars toward sovereign launch capability, along with guaranteed launch contracts for the company.
## Company grows with returning talent
Canada Rocket Company has about thirty employees, many Canadian rocket scientists who left to work at SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab but have now returned. The company has raised twenty-two point five million dollars.
## Test facility named for astronaut Hansen
Canada Rocket Company announced a thirty million dollar Jeremy Hansen Test Facility near London, Ontario, on fifty acres leased from Greater London International Airport Authority. Testing of the E-1 engine is planned in about two years.
## Key takeaway

Canada is investing in domestic rocket development to reduce dependence on the US, with Canada Rocket Company planning a medium-lift vehicle launch by 2032.