German Firm Eyes New Window for Europe’s First Commercial Orbital Launch

After a scrubbed test flight on Monday, a German spaceflight company has determined its next opportunity to launch the first commercial orbital launch vehicle from mainland Europe.

Munich-based Isar Aerospace postponed the debut launch of its Spectrum rocket, citing unfavorable winds at Norway’s Andøya Spaceport. On Tuesday, Isar said it will now target Thursday at 7:30 a.m. EDT for the highly anticipated test flight, which could pave the way for a more robust European presence in the commercial space industry.

The mission will not have a payload—rather, it will serve as the first integrated test of all rocket systems. And no matter what happens, Isar said it will view the test as a success.

“Rather than relying on years of computer simulations hoping for perfection on the first try, we embrace real-world testing,” said Daniel Metzler, CEO and cofounder of Isar, in a LinkedIn post. “This first flight test is about collecting as much data and experience as possible. Launch. Learn. Repeat.”

Spectrum represents Isar’s bid to capture a slice of the small and medium satellite launch market, which is dominated by SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The reusable model accounted for more than half of all global orbital launch attempts in 2024.

It is also expected to compete with the Ariane family of rockets, upon which the European Space Agency (ESA) has relied for decades. Ariane vehicles are built by a consortium of European companies led by Arianespace and backed primarily by the French government. But they are expensive, nonreusable, and typically launch from the French-run Guiana Space Center in South America.

Standing about 92 feet tall with a diameter of about 6 feet, Spectrum is designed to carry payloads of up to 2,200 pounds to low Earth orbit. The two-stage vehicle burns 40 tons of liquid oxygen and propane across its nine first-stage Aquila engines and single second-stage engine. Unlike Falcon 9, though, the vehicle is not reusable, which is what allowed SpaceX to lower launch costs and take command of the market.

Isar’s goal is to eventually produce up to 40 Spectrum vehicles annually at its facility near Munich. Per Metzler, it builds nearly all components in house and is already producing two more rockets. The company is operating with about $435 million in funding from private investors as well as the NATO Innovation Fund and German government.

The European Space Agency (ESA), notably, has also poured millions into Isar and other commercial launch providers through its Boost! program. On Monday, the space agency opened the European Launcher Challenge, which invites applicants to compete for private launch services contracts. The moves mirror NASA’s embrace of commercial firms to support ISS astronaut crew swaps, science missions, and a number of other functions.

“Whatever the outcome, Isar Aerospace’s upcoming Spectrum launch will be historic: the first commercial orbital launch from mainland Europe,” Josef Aschbacher, director general of ESA, wrote last week on X. “The support and cofunding the European Space Agency has given Isar Aerospace and other launch service provider startups is paying off for increased autonomy in Europe.”

As Metzler wrote on LinkedIn, privately built rockets like Spectrum could help ESA develop its own “competitive, flexible, and independent” space industry.

Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister for higher education and research and a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s administration, has echoed that sentiment. The newest member of the Ariane family, Ariane 6, debuted about one year after Ariane 5 was retired and completed its first commercial mission earlier this month. Following that flight, Baptiste asserted the need for a European alternative to the U.S. orbital launch industry as President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk take aim at NASA and its programs, such as the International Space Station (ISS).

“If we want to maintain our independence, ensure our security, and preserve our sovereignty, we must equip ourselves with the means for strategic autonomy, and space is an essential part of this,” Baptiste said.

Following Spectrum’s debut flight, the rocket is expected to launch small satellites on behalf of the German Space Agency at DLR. Isar earlier this month also signed a contract with the Norwegian Space Agency to launch its Arctic Ocean Surveillance satellites from Andøya through 2028.

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