Canada Rocket Company breaks ground at $30M test facility in London, Ont.

Canada Rocket Company breaks ground at $30M test facility in London, Ont.

Canada Rocket Company is building its new Jeremy Hansen Test Facility near the London airport

London, Ont., will be home to Canada's first large-scale rocket engine test facility as the country looks towards establishing Canadian launch capabilities.

On Thursday, Canada Rocket Company (CRC), founded in 2025, officially broke ground at the project site east of London International Airport, where the $30 million Jeremy Hansen Test Facility — named after the Canadian astronaut from London — is expected to be fully operational by 2028.

As part of Canada's 2026 Defence Industrial Strategy, space, including domestic launch capabilities, was identified as a high-value sector, and CRC's co-founder Hugh Kolias said that was the "trigger point" to start the company.

"Without that signaling from the federal government, none of this would have been possible," he said. "It's a key reason why we're standing here today"

With the help of $8.3 million in funding from the Department of National Defence, CRC will be using its new London facility to help develop and test a reusable, medium lift rocket that can carry up to 12,500 kilograms into orbit powered by its own methalox engine, the E-1.

The London facility, built on land leased from the Greater London Airport Authority on Nissouri Road, will not be used to launch rockets. The engine testing will be static, with up to three vertical and horizontal test stands capable of holding engines with more than one meganewton in thrust — a level of force similar to the Merlin 1D engines used on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.

The site will include a 12,000 square-foot office and shop building, housing a fabrication area for engineering, assembly and test preparation.

In total, CRC is expected to create about 40 full-time jobs in London, including engineers, technicians and co-ops, according to Kolias, and will help support CRC's broader rocket program, which the company projects will create 1,000 jobs across the country and more than $1 billion in new investment over the next decade.

The rocket testing facility is a "catalyst" according to London Mayor Josh Morgan, that builds on the vision of London as a bold and innovative partner in the future of the country.

"We are here to be a part of this," he said. "We're here to create jobs in our city, we're here to create innovation, and we're here to be part of Canada's future, especially as we move toward our own space independence and independent launch capacity"

"This is a very exciting day for London, Ontario and Canada."

Speaking to CRC's decision to make London the home of its new facility, Kolias pointed to the city's manufacturing history, talent and ambition, with more than 40 defence and aerospace companies already operating in the area.

A rocket test site is something that has never existed in Canada, he said, and many communities would turn down the opportunity because it "just seems a little too difficult."

Kolias said it was clear the London community was on board from CRC's first interaction with the city.

"Everyone was so excited at the opportunity and everyone really understood how important it was, not just for the community from an economic development perspective, but also for the country," he said.

Jack joined CBC London after graduating from Fanshawe College in 2025. He previously studied political science and Russian studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. You can contact him at jack.sutton@cbc.ca.