NordSpace Opens Rocket Factory 1 to Expand Canadian Rocket Production 🇨🇦

NordSpace has opened Rocket Factory 1 (RF-1), a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Markham, Ontario, marking the company's transition from research and development to production of launch vehicles and space systems.

The facility represents a tenfold expansion of NordSpace's previous headquarters and serves as the centerpiece of its growing Canadian space infrastructure network.

RF-1 is designed to manufacture NordSpace's Tundra and Tundra+ launch vehicles, which are being developed to deliver payloads of up to 1,100 kilograms and more than 2,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit, respectively.

The company said production scaling will be supported by expanded metal additive manufacturing and composite manufacturing capabilities, including new automated fiber placement systems and large-format metal 3D printers.

These technologies will be used to produce components for NordSpace's Hadfield-150 liquid rocket engine as well as launch vehicle structures and satellite hardware.

RF-1 also serves as the anchor facility for an $8 million advanced manufacturing consortium supported by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen).

The consortium includes Miltera Machining Research Corp., Pegmatis Inc., Prime Powders Inc., and Bear Paw Manufacturing, and focuses on AI-enabled manufacturing technologies for aerospace applications.

The new factory is part of a broader three-site network that includes Area 66, NordSpace's propulsion test facility in Eastern Ontario, and the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The company said it has also acquired land for a future 200,000-square-foot Rocket Factory 2 facility, which will support development and production of its reusable Tempest medium-lift launch vehicle.

CEO and founder Rahul Goel said the company's strategy is centered on developing domestic manufacturing, testing, launch, and operational capabilities within Canada.

Image Credits: NordSpace