Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into orbit from Andøya Spaceport in Norway on Saturday, marking the first orbital launch by a privately developed European vehicle from continental Europe. The Munich-based company’s two-stage liquid-fueled rocket deployed five small satellites and one technology demonstration experiment into a 500-kilometer orbit during its inaugural flight, designated “Onward and Upward” .
The Spectrum rocket, powered by propane and liquid oxygen, uses nine Aquila engines on its first stage and a single vacuum-optimized Aquila engine on the upper stage. It is designed to carry up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit and 700 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit, with 3D-printed engine components manufactured in Munich .
European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher called the launch historic, noting it was the first time a European competitor in the launcher sector had achieved orbital insertion. The mission also fulfilled the initial stage of the ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, a program requiring providers to complete an orbital launch by 2027 .
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz congratulated Isar Aerospace on X, writing, “Great congratulations to Isar Aerospace for the launch of the Spectrum rocket. This is the beginning of a new era” . The company is now building five additional Spectrum rockets and plans to scale production to meet global demand, with a new facility capable of producing up to 40 rockets annually .
