The funding from the state-backed Luxembourg Future Fund is in addition to unspecified grants from its space program and research and development credits. In concert with the announcement, the company said its presence in the tiny European country would become a full-blown European headquarters. (The Logic)
Talking point: NorthStar already had promised a research centre in Luxembourg, after a previous round of funding from the government supported its work on detecting and tracking orbital debris. Canada has previously given NorthStar millions in subsidies; the company is also seeking government business as an indicator that its home country backs its work commercially. NorthStar has a blue-ribbon board, chaired by private-equity billionaire and Coalition Avenir Québec co-founder Charles Sirois and including former premier Pierre Marc Johnson.