NordSpace opens Ottawa office and names former Transport Canada executive as VP

NordSpace opened a new Ottawa office on Canada Day and named Elsa Henchiri vice president of policy and government relations as the company works toward sovereign Canadian orbital launch capability by 2028. The move adds a fourth Canadian location and puts a key former Transport Canada policy architect at the center of NordSpace’s regulatory push.

Why it matters: - NordSpace is building the policy and regulatory side of Canada’s first sovereign orbital launch effort alongside its hardware and launch-site development. - The Ottawa office places the company in the center of federal decision-making as launch licensing, public safety approvals and spectrum coordination advance. - Elsa Henchiri’s move from Transport Canada brings direct experience with the rules that will govern Canada’s first commercial orbital launches.

What happened: - NordSpace opened a new office in Ottawa on Canada Day. - The Ottawa site is NordSpace’s fourth Canadian location, joining Rocket Factory 1 in Markham, Area 66 in Eastern Ontario and the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador. - The company named Elsa Henchiri vice president of policy and government relations to lead the Ottawa office. - NordSpace said the goal is to help bring sovereign Canadian orbital launch capability online by 2028.

The details: - Henchiri spent 25 years in federal service, primarily at Transport Canada. - She led the development of Canada’s commercial space launch safety and security program from the beginning, including the regulatory framework behind the Canadian Space Launch Act. - Her past roles included director of safety policy and intelligence, head of aviation security risk and chief of civil aviation safety policy at Transport Canada. - She also held senior analyst roles at the Department of National Defence. - NordSpace said Henchiri will lead strategic engagement on the Canadian Space Launch Act, implementing regulations, NATO STARLIFT, the Defence Industrial Strategy released in February 2026, the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act, the BOREALIS program, spectrum coordination and licensing with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and airspace and range management with NAV Canada and Transport Canada. - Her mandate includes accelerating launch licensing and public safety approvals, expanding engagement across DND and the Canadian Space Agency, and growing NordSpace’s federal footprint. - NordSpace said its government relationships already span DND, Transport Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Global Affairs Canada, the National Research Council, ISED and NAV Canada, as well as Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. - The company said those relationships have already produced landmark outcomes. - The Ottawa office formalizes that work in the city where most space-launch decisions are made.

Between the lines: - NordSpace is trying to solve a common launch-industry bottleneck: rockets and infrastructure can move faster than approvals and coordination. - Bringing in the person who helped write the launch rules signals NordSpace wants to influence implementation, not just comply with it. - The Ottawa move also shows NordSpace is pairing industrial capacity with government-relations capacity as it seeks a larger role in defense, space and dual-use programs.

What's next: - NordSpace said the Ottawa office will initially focus on government relations, policy advocacy, regulatory advisory and business development. - The office is expected to expand later into research and development tied to the Ottawa–Montreal corridor. - NordSpace said future hiring could tap aerospace, defense and mission-critical software talent in the region. - The company’s Taiga suborbital launches from ASX will continue to test propulsion, avionics, guidance and recovery systems while also exercising Canada’s commercial space launch licensing regime and launch-day safety procedures. - NordSpace said construction at SLC-01 and SLC-02 at ASX will continue through the summer. - The Blackhawk test cell at Area 66 is scheduled to reach operational readiness later this summer in preparation for the largest rocket engine test in Canadian history.

The bottom line: - NordSpace is making Ottawa part of its launch strategy, betting that regulatory leadership will matter as much as rocket hardware in reaching orbital launch by 2028. - For more information or to explore partnership opportunities, visit the company’s website.