NordSpace
NordSpace is a Canadian sovereign launch startup developing the Taiga suborbital and Tundra orbital rockets, the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland, and dual-use smallsat systems.
Background
Founded in 2022 by Rahul Goel in Markham, Ontario, NordSpace was built from the outset around the thesis that Canada lacks indigenous launch capability and must develop one for sovereignty and security reasons.
Goel is the publicly identified sole founder and CEO; the company was described as primarily self-funded by Goel in its early years before securing government backing.
The product stack is vertically integrated: Taiga is a small suborbital test vehicle; Tundra is an orbital launcher targeting up to 1,100 kg to LEO in its baseline configuration and 2,000+ kg in the Tundra+ variant (an earlier figure of 500 kg to LEO appears in NASA Spaceflight coverage, suggesting the design has evolved); and a larger Titan is planned for the future. NordSpace also develops turn-key satellites and dual-use mission systems.
The company operates three facilities — the RF-1 manufacturing campus in Markham (capacity up to 235 employees), the Area 66 propulsion test range in eastern Ontario, and the Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) at St.
Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador. It has also launched NordSpace Ventures and made a strategic investment in smallsat imagery firm Wyvern.