NordSpace Awarded $1M CSA Funding for Sovereign Satellite Propulsion

Advancing Sovereign Space Technology

NordSpace announced on November 12, 2026, that it has secured a $1 million contribution from the Canadian Space Agency. The funding is provided under the Space Technology Development Program to support the development of Zephyr-EP. This technology is intended to be the first commercial sovereign electric propulsion system in Canada designed specifically for small satellites. The company is positioning this development to provide Canadian operators with a domestic alternative to foreign, export-restricted suppliers for a critical satellite component. Source

Electric propulsion serves several vital roles for modern spacecraft in low Earth orbit. These systems enable satellite operators to maintain operational altitudes against atmospheric drag and conduct collision avoidance maneuvers. Furthermore, the technology is used to raise satellites from their initial deployment orbits to designated operational heights and to facilitate end-of-life deorbiting to meet international debris mitigation standards. As commercial constellations expand, the reliance on these propulsion systems has grown across communications and observation sectors globally. Source

The Zephyr-EP is a Hall effect thruster that offers propellant flexibility between xenon and krypton. The design is intended for extended missions and is clusterable, allowing multiple units to be grouped for larger satellite platforms requiring higher total thrust. NordSpace plans to integrate this system into its future spacecraft buses, starting with the Athena bus and eventually the Aquila model currently in development. This project follows the company's inaugural launch of the Terra Nova satellite, which functioned as a pathfinder. Source

Development of the thruster is taking place at NordSpace’s Space Systems Lab in Markham, Ontario. The facility includes specialized testing infrastructure, including thermal vacuum and vibration chambers, as well as an ISO 5 clean room. According to the company, the lab has the production capacity for up to one small satellite per month. The Zephyr team is leveraging the engineering experience gained from the Hadfield-150 liquid rocket engine project, which is designed to power the company's Tundra and Tempest launch vehicles. Source

Collaborative Development and Market Impact

The propulsion program involves collaboration with Dr. C. Malardier-Jugroot from the Royal Military College of Canada. Research conducted by her department provides the underlying propulsion physics for the thruster's development. NordSpace intends for the Zephyr-EP to address needs in both commercial and defense satellite markets. By creating this capability, the company aims to foster a domestic aerospace supply chain, as there is no other commercial manufacturer of such propulsion systems for small satellites operating in Canada. Source

The Zephyr family includes multiple variants to support different mission profiles. The Zephyr-EP50 is intended for smaller microsatellites, while the Zephyr-EP500 is designated for larger platforms. Additionally, the company is developing a chemical thruster variant, the Zephyr-CH, which has been in development since 2025. These propulsion components form part of the broader NordSpace effort to offer a vertically integrated range of space mission services, encompassing launch vehicles, spacecraft buses, and terrestrial spaceport operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. Source

The Canadian Space Agency has also provided recent funding for other space technology initiatives. In a separate contract, the agency awarded Quebec City-based ABB Inc. approximately $1.5 million to refine an instrument known as the Martian Atmospheric Gas Evolution Experiment – Inter-Cavity Optical Spectroscopy. This device is designed to detect trace amounts of methane on Mars using optical spectroscopy. This investment is part of the same STDP framework that funded the NordSpace propulsion project, highlighting a broader effort to expand Canada's planetary science instrumentation capabilities. Source

ABB has received other recent awards from the Canadian Space Agency, including nearly $1 million in October for an optical imaging payload and a selection last December to develop an infrared spectrometer for the Lunar Utility Rover. These projects demonstrate a sustained investment in high-precision sensor and instrument development. Unlike the Zephyr-EP propulsion system, which focuses on spacecraft movement and operational station-keeping, the ABB instrument is specialized for sampling atmospheric gas composition on a remote planet during international missions. Source

Recent CSA Technology Program Awards

The following table summarizes the recent CSA funding recipients and project objectives as reported by the respective publishers. Source

The reliance on foreign suppliers for critical small satellite components has long been a logistical concern for Canadian operators. By domesticating the production of electric propulsion, NordSpace intends to reduce these export-related constraints. The development program is expected to build high-skill employment within the Canadian aerospace sector. The company maintains that creating a domestic propulsion capability is a vital step toward establishing an independent and reliable Canadian space economy that can scale alongside the requirements of global commercial constellations. Source

As the Zephyr-EP technology moves through the development stages, its integration into future buses such as the Athena and Aquila represents a shift toward standardized hardware for NordSpace missions. The combination of in-house bus design and domestic propulsion systems aligns with the broader goals of the company to execute end-to-end space missions. Whether this technology will be made available to third-party Canadian satellite operators outside of the NordSpace ecosystem remains a key aspect of the long-term sovereign strategy for the Canadian space industry. Source