Nova Scotia company says it has launched its second suborbital test rocket

A rocket launched from Little Dover, N.S., on Thursday.

CANSO — The Nova Scotia company behind a plan to build Canada’s first commercial spaceport says it has successfully launched its second suborbital rocket.

Minutes after the launch from Little Dover, N.S., Maritime Launch Services said on social media, “And we have liftoff.”

The post was accompanied by a photo showing a rocket ascending into a blue sky above a stand of evergreens, a thin plume of white smoke trailing behind.

The company’s launch pad is near Canso, N.S., at the northeastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia.

In July 2023, the Halifax-based company launched a smaller amateur rocket — Goose 3 — built by students at York University.

In June of this year, Maritime Launch Services announced its plan to launch two suborbital rockets to an altitude above 100 kilometres, which is generally agreed to be the boundary between Earth and space — otherwise known as the Kármán line.

The company issued a statement saying its latest launch was a success, but it did not say how high its Barracuda rocket flew.

The test launches are part of the company’s plan to develop a launch complex capable of sending commercial satellites into orbit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.