Isar Aerospace readies Spectrum rocket for take-off

Satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace received its permit for first flight earlier this month. The company was granted the launch operator license by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for its first test flight from Andøya Spaceport. Subject to weather, safety and range infrastructure, the company was preparing to conduct the inaugural test flight later today of its Spectrum launch vehicle under this permit but the mission has now been delayed due to strong winds.

Isar Aerospace’s first test flight will lift-off from Andøya Spaceport in Norway in the next few days. With the mission ‘Going Full Spectrum’, Isar Aerospace will conduct the first flight of an orbital launch vehicle from continental Europe. The first test flight will not include any customer payloads.

Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, said: “We are approaching the most important moment of our journey so far, and I would like to thank all our team, partners, customers and investors who have been accompanying and trusting us. In today's geopolitical climate, our first test flight is about much more than a rocket launch — space is one of the most critical platforms for our security, resilience and technological advancement. In the next few days, Isar Aerospace will lay the foundations to regain much needed independent and competitive access to space from Europe.”

First fully integrated test
With the first test flight, Isar Aerospace aims to collect as much data and experience as possible. The company’s Spectrum launch vehicle was designed, developed and built almost entirely in-house. For Spectrum it is the first fully integrated test of all systems.

Alexandre Dalloneau, vice president mission and launch operations at Isar Aerospace, said: “Our goal is to test each and every component and system of the launch vehicle. No matter how far we come with this test flight, Mission ‘Going Full Spectrum’ will be a reason for our entire team to be very proud, a success for Isar Aerospace and our close partner Andøya Spaceport, and a huge step forward for European access to space.”

The test results will feed into the iterations and development of future Spectrum vehicles, which are being built and tested in parallel. Andøya Spaceport is continental Europe’s first operational orbital launch site and was established to facilitate commercial and institutional satellite launches. The spaceport construction started in 2021. Isar Aerospace has exclusive access to Andøya Spaceport’s first launch pad, which the company has designed to its own specifications.

For more details about the Spectrum launch vehicle and the test flight Mission ‘Going Full Spectrum’ visit the website here.