Things I'm watching as an MLS fan
News has been quiet on the MLS front recently so I thought I'd make a post about some near-term upcoming events in the MLS orbit that I've been looking forward to.
- Bill C-28 progress:
-This is currently still in second reading with the next appearance in the Commons not yet announced (hopefully will return to the floor in June for more discussion). Once it passes second reading it will land at the Standing Committee of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities for further review, then a third reading before Senate review. Unfortunately two members of the committee (Leslyn Lewis and Dan Muys) are both very critical of the federal lease plan so will likely make some noise with the bill. However, the Liberal majority should see Bill C-28 pass through the Commons/Committee/Senate relatively quickly...hopefully without too much mud slung at MLS...see below...
- Conservative Party questioning legitimacy of federal lease agreement with MLS:
-There are a number of questions posed mostly by Conservative party members that are highly critical of MLS. Most of them should be answered in some way or another by mid June....https://www.ourcommons.ca/written-questions/questions?text=topic%3A%5B%5C%5DAerospace%20industry%5B%5C%5D&view=list
- Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR):
-On May 4/26, Conservative MP Vincent Ho attempted to pass a motion specifically studying the $200 million agreement between the federal govt and MLS. This was rejected down party lines (5-6 with Conservatives and Bloc for the motion). However, on May 7/26, he was successful in introducing a broader review of Govt of Canada Procurement Practices in the Space Sector (11-0 in favour, all Liberal, Conservative and Bloc members voting in favour). The SRSR will reconvene May 25 with the president of the Canadian Space Agency, this meeting isn't clearly labelled as part of Ho's motion but I suspect questions around MLS will come up. I suspect that Vincent Ho will specifically use the opportunity to attack the lease agreement...this could generate some negative headlines or social media attention.
- Q1 Financials/Discussion & Analysis released last week on Sedar+/Community note from April 2026 :
-Demonstrated that the company is now recognizing some meaningful revenue! If only because of the terms of the lease (and a tiny bit from Leaf Space and deferred revenue from Reaction Dynamics). The financials and community discussion also demonstrated that MLS is starting to spend more money on infrastructure (likely road work, administrative/payroll, paying off loans and hiring).
-In terms of actual buildout, the MD&A specifically mentions a January 2026 purchase of 19 acres of land where the permanent site access and security checkpoint will be constructed, as well as a specialized satellite assembly and test facility.
-However, I think the real story will be in the Q2 financials (Likely early-mid August). Ideally there will be some strong indication from there how much is actually being spent on new infrastructure. In order to keep the terms of the lease and continued payment, MLS has to demonstrate initial orbital launch readiness by the end of 2026 (a pretty nebulous/undefined phrase) so I would think that they would be pretty motivated to show some serious progress this year, to reduce any risk to continued lease payments.
- Actual launch customers!:
-This is the big thing to watch out for and something that would actually legitimize the "Sovereign Launch Thesis" as well as MLS as a company. Reaction Dynamics has officially inked a deal with MLS as a potential small class launcher for a small lease/equity fee. However, Reaction dynamics has not yet made it suborbital, let alone Orbital. Having said that, they will, (I think) be making an attempt the second week of June from the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. A successful launch there would be very good news for MLS as a launch partner and bode well for progress towards an orbital launcher/de-risk them a bit as a customer
-The Korean company Innospace has been making moves all over the world building their reputation as a commercial launch vehicle and signing MOUs and LOIs all over. They signed a LOI with MLS that will expire at the end of 2026 to explore the potential of launching from NS. Their HANBIT-Nano rocket will be making it's second attempt at orbital launch in Q3 in Brazil. They have already demonstrated suborbital potential with their HANBIT-TLV. A successful orbital launch for HANBIT-Nano would be amazing news, it would be doubly amazing if the LOI they signed with MLS crystallizes into a real contract!
-In the MD&A attached to the Q1 financials as well as a recent interview with Bloomberg, Stephen Matier mentioned that MLS is currently in discussion with more potential clients than there will be pads available (assuming he means 4). He specifically mentions a potential European customer. I think he's talking about Skyrora...specifically the skyora XL orbital launcher, which is still in the experimental phase. I strongly suspect that this is many years away from fruition.
Let me know if I've missed anything or if anyone has any feedback! I'm an investor as well, and it sucks watching MAXQ bleed away from the highs of a few months ago. But it still remains a Pennystock with relatively low volume. It is still capable of rising or falling with the news.