Isar Aerospace, a German startup founded by three university students, recently achieved a milestone in Europe’s space sector by launching its Spectrum rocket into low-Earth orbit. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Andøya Spaceport in Norway on 4:12 pm EST (20:12 UTC), with the final daylight of late summer fading as the rocket ascended into orbit seven minutes later.
“Today, Isar Aerospace opened space from continental Europe,” said Daniel Metzler, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “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.”
Metzler, along with his classmates Josef Fleischmann and Markus Brandl, established Isar in 2018, naming the company after the river that runs through the Bavarian capital. The trio originally started by tinkering with rocket parts in a campus workshop, eventually deciding their hobby could earn them some money.
“Europe now has sovereign access to space,” said Metzler. “We have entered into a new chapter for European spaceflight. I am incredibly proud of our team, that has made this success story from Europe possible. We will now focus on rapidly scaling launch vehicle production, deliver on our order pipeline, and meet surging global demand.”
With this successful launch, Isar is leading the pack of several European launch startups, setting a clear path for a more competitive and dynamic space industry in Europe. The race to orbit is on!
