The Spectrum rocket from the German space company Isar Aerospace has successfully launched into space on its second test flight. The rocket lifted off from Norway's Andøya Cosmodrome at 10:12 p.m., as seen on a livestream. After ten minutes, the video transmission to the ground was interrupted after the missile had exceeded the maximum range of the link. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) congratulated the company: “This is the beginning of a new era.”
Great success for a young company
During the first attempt in March 2025, only 30 seconds passed before the crash. The company, based in Ottobrunn near Munich, celebrated a great success after months of delays and postponing the second test flight four times. According to the moderators of the live broadcast, the rocket reached an altitude of around 100 kilometers above the ground just four minutes after launch - the so-called Karman line, which marks the imaginary boundary to space.
The live broadcast included, among other things, the repulsion of the first stage. The 28 meter high Spectrum rocket had five scientific satellites from several universities and a scientific experiment. “This is the first time that such a flight has been successful from the European continent into Earth orbit,” said Chancellor Merz that night. It was not immediately clear whether the satellites were also successfully placed into orbit.
The Spectrum rocket was originally scheduled to take off in January. But the first date was postponed due to a defective valve, and the second attempt in March was interrupted by a Norwegian fisherman who had not left the safety zone in the waters in front of the launch base with his boat in time. In April, launch preparations were canceled due to a leaking pressure vessel, and in June there was another problem. Isar Aerospace wants to launch further launches this year; the construction of the third Spectrum rocket is already well advanced.
Success of the company of strategic importance for Europe
Once it is ready for series production, the Spectrum is intended to launch civil and military satellites into near-earth orbits a few hundred kilometers above the ground; the plan is to produce 40 rockets per year. Both the federal government and the EU and other European countries have a strategic interest in the success of the company with its 400 employees. According to the company, Isar Aerospace has so far raised over half a billion euros in investor money. The young company recently signed a contract for 200 million euros with the European Space Agency (ESA) - part of an ESA program that is intended to accelerate the development of European launch vehicles.
Dependence on US technology and SpaceX should disappear
The reason is Europe's current widespread inability to launch satellites into space using its own technology. The vast majority of European satellites have long been launched into space by SpaceX. This is unpopular with European space companies, not least because clients in the USA have to disclose the technical specifications of their satellites. According to Isar Aerospace, the USA launched 198 rockets last year, Europe only eight.
Around 60 percent of the inquiries to Isar Aerospace now come from the military sector, as CEO Daniel Metzler reported in the spring. According to the company, Isar Aerospace is already fully booked with orders worth several hundred million dollars until 2028, even though the rocket is not ready for series production. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) visited the site in Andøya on March 13th together with the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støhre.
The delayed Ariane 6 should also get going
However, the Bavarian Spectrum rocket will not be able to reach higher altitudes in space even if it reaches series production one day. The French-German ArianeGroup is working on this and wants to launch a total of seven to eight Ariane 6 rockets this year, which have been delayed for years. According to the European Spaceflight specialist portal, there have been four Ariane launches this year so far. Unlike the Spectrum, the Ariane is a large launch vehicle that can carry much heavier payloads into geostationary orbits almost 36,000 kilometers above the ground.
