Adedokun Waliyu 
An aerospace company is planning to build what it calls Canada’s first large-scale rocket engine test facility, a $30-million project in London that’s expected to create 40 jobs over the next 18 months.
The Canada Rocket Company (CRC), founded in 2025, is a Toronto aerospace startup developing reusable medium-lift rockets capable of carrying up to 12,500 kilograms (27,000 pounds). The company hopes to eventually launch Canadian satellites from home soil.
Thursday, the company announced its plans to build a 12,000-square-foot rocket engine test facility on 20 hectares (50 acres) of land leased from the Greater London International Airport Authority. CRC expects the site, located at the southwest corner of Nissouri Road and Evelyn Drive, to be fully operational by 2028.
“I think a lot of communities probably would have said that this is just too much work,” Hugh Kolias, the company’s CEO, said, adding the plans have been in the works since March.
“The London International Airport, their team, as well as the London Economic Development Corporation, have just been absolutely fantastic to work with, and that’s really the core draw, and ultimately why we’re here.”
Kolias says Canada lacks launch capabilities, with Canadian satellites relying on other countries’ rockets to send them into space. The company is trying to change that, and give Canada independent access to space.
“The systems we all depend on every day, like GPS, communications, financial transactions and defence applications, all depend upon infrastructure we ultimately don’t control,” he said.
Scott McFadzean, president of the airport, said the new facility represents the airport’s vision to become a leading regional hub.
“This investment strengthens London’s growing aerospace sector and creates new opportunities for collaboration with Western University, Fanshawe College and the next generation of engineers, technicians and innovators,” McFadzean said.
The facility, which will feature both an engine test area and office space, will be named the Jeremy Hansen Test Facility after the London-born astronaut who became the first non-American to travel into deep space during NASA’s Artemis II mission earlier this year.
Hansen did not attend the announcement in person but did share a video message with those in attendance to congratulate the company and say he was honoured the facility had been named after him.
CRC says its $30-million facility will give it the infrastructure to conduct static testing of its rocket engines with more than one million newtons of thrust.
The company is working with the airport and regulators as planning for the facility advances. Kolias expects construction to officially begin next week.
In less than a year, Kolias says the company has raised more than $22.5 million in funding, including an $8.3-million grant from the Department of National Defence. Ninety-five per cent of that funding is from Canadian investors, he said.
Kapil Lakhotia, president and chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp., says the new facility represents London’s economy becoming further diversified.
“We’re very fortunate to have worked with a fantastic team at the Canada Rocket Company, and looking forward to building from this,” Lakhotia said. “Obviously the first phase is this testing facility, but we’re talking to them about other opportunities as well down the line as their operation scales up.”
Lakhotia hopes the new facility will create “spin-off” effects throughout the local economy in terms of supply chains, research and development, and innovation.
CRC says the facility will also support a “broader rocket development” program for the company, which it projects will create roughly 1,000 jobs and more than $1-billion in new investment over the next decade.
Kolias says more announcements are in the works for the company, including where its launch facility will be, which is likely to be coastal. The company is targeting 2032 for their first official launch.
A community consultation is scheduled for the project on Oct. 15, Kolias said, adding further details will be made in the coming days.
