Isar Aerospace has become the first commercial space company in Europe to deliver satellites to orbit, achieving the feat on only the second flight of its Spectrum launch vehicle.
The launch is the first time a privately developed commercial launch company has delivered a satellite to orbit from Europe. Arianespace has delivered European satellites for several decades using government-developed Ariane and Vega vehicles.
Isar’s Onward and Upward mission lifted off from the company’s launch complex at Andøya Space in Norway at 22:12 CEST on September 5, climbing to orbit and deploying its payloads. Isar Aerospace is working with its customers to confirm the status of the satellites.
It is also the first rocket to reach orbit from Western Europe, after decades in which the region’s satellites launched mainly from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The result makes Isar Aerospace the first of five companies selected for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Launcher Challenge to complete an orbital launch, a milestone the initiative requires by the end of 2027.
The success marks a turnaround from the vehicle’s debut in March 2025, when the first Spectrum lifted off from the same site but was terminated around 30 seconds into flight after losing control. This second mission served as a qualification flight, verifying the vehicle’s systems under operational conditions.
Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, said, “Today, Isar Aerospace opened space from Continental Europe. Launch continues to be the largest bottleneck for the global space industry and from today on, there is a true alternative for commercial and institutional customers.”
During the ascent, Spectrum passed through maximum aerodynamic pressure, completed main engine cutoff and stage separation, and ignited its second stage. It crossed the Kármán line at 62 miles (100km), jettisoned its payload fairing and, after a circularization burn, separated its payloads.
The two-stage Spectrum stands 92ft (28m) tall and uses 10 engines to carry up to 2,200lb (1,000kg) to low Earth orbit. The flight carried six payloads, five CubeSats and one experiment chosen through a German Space Agency competition at DLR and funded through the ESA’s Boost! program.
Isar Aerospace, which is based near Munich, Germany is scaling production, with the next five Spectrum vehicles already being built. A new 430,000ft² (40,000m²) facility will eventually let the company produce up to 40 launch vehicles a year, and a second launch site is under construction in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The flight is significant for the European space sector and governments because it offers a route to orbit at a time of rising demand for launch capacity and growing emphasis on sovereign access to space.
Isar said it will now concentrate on delivering against its order pipeline and meeting global demand.
