Isar Aerospace prepares for the second test flight of Spectrum

The German company Isar Aerospace is developing a small launch vehicle called Spectrum, capable of carrying a payload of around one metric ton to low Earth orbit. The rocket’s payload fairing has a diameter of two meters, allowing it to accommodate fairly large small satellites or a whole group of smaller satellites.

Several other companies are also developing new small launch vehicles. Bringing these into service is a significant boost to Europe’s self-sufficiency in space activities, and having multiple rockets in operation increases overall reliability.

Isar Aerospace has a launch site on the island of Andøya in the Lofoten archipelago in Norway. What makes this particularly significant, in addition to the new rocket itself, is the launch location: soon it will be possible to launch satellites into space directly from mainland Europe. Andøya is especially well suited for launching satellites into polar orbits.

The company also plans to launch its rockets in the future from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, in South America — the same site currently used for Ariane and Vega launches. Other new launch companies will also make use of launch sites in Scotland.

In the near future, satellites will thus be able to be launched from several locations in Europe, using a variety of different rockets.

The first flight failed (which was not a surprise)

Isar Aerospace conducted the first flight of its rocket in March 2025, but the launch was unsuccessful. The rocket fell back down after only about half a minute of flight, fortunately into the sea rather than onto the launch pad.

The fact that a new rocket developed and built by a new launch company failed on its first flight from a new launch site was hardly surprising. Very few rockets succeed on their maiden flight, even when developed by experienced companies. Nevertheless, the launch attempt itself was a major step forward: even the short flight provided Isar with a great deal of data and, above all, valuable experience in launch preparations and operations.

A new attempt in February

Isar had planned a new launch attempt between 21 and 23 January. However, this launch — named “Onward and Upward” — has been postponed due to final checks and a fault discovered in a valve, and is now expected to take place in March (no earlier than 19 March, company stated on 30 January).

On board the rocket are five small microsatellites (CubeSats) and one technical demonstration payload. The satellites were selected through a competition organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

The launch is financially supported by the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme.