NordSpace opens 60,000-sq-ft rocket factory in Markham

Markham, Ontario-based aerospace startup NordSpace has opened a 60,000-square-foot production campus northeast of Toronto, the company said Tuesday. The facility, called Rocket Factory 1, is designed to house up to 255 employees and will build the startup's light and medium-lift orbital launch vehicles. It marks NordSpace's shift from development to production mode.

The new campus consolidates design, engineering, manufacturing, integration, and mission control under one roof. It also supports an $8-million federally funded project NordSpace is participating in. The site joins the company's 50-acre propulsion test range in Eastern Ontario and a commercial launch hub under development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

NordSpace chief executive Rahul Goel said the facility gives Canada an independent path to orbit. "RF-1 is the production engine that makes that sovereignty real and ensures Canada is not left permanently dependent on the priorities and schedules of foreign providers," Goel said in a news release.

The startup is part of a broader push by Canadian rocket builders to end the country's reliance on American launch services. The federal government has backed the effort with funding, and NordSpace is developing 3D-printed rocket engines and a spaceport to send small Canadian payloads into orbit from domestic soil.

NordSpace is already planning a larger facility. The company has acquired land for a 200,000-square-foot plant dedicated to a reusable medium-lift rocket. Construction on that site is expected to begin later this year.

The opening of RF-1 is a concrete step toward sovereign launch capacity. The company's longer-term ambition depends on reaching orbit and scaling production. The next milestone will be the first test flight from the Newfoundland hub.