Overview
- Isar Aerospace is preparing a second attempt to reach orbit with its Spectrum rocket from Norway’s Andøya Spaceport, a flight that could become the first orbital launch from European soil if it succeeds.
- The mission is set to carry five cubesats and a scientific experiment, underscoring the launcher’s role in putting small satellites into low-Earth orbit.
- The company’s first orbital test in March 2025 failed about 30 seconds after liftoff, and this qualification flight is meant to prove fixes and establish a repeatable path to orbit.
- The new attempt follows delays tied first to a technical issue and then to poor weather, with the company targeting a late-March window.
- Separately, Bloomberg reports Isar is discussing a roughly €250 million funding round that could value the firm near €2 billion, as the startup scales production in Munich and competes in ESA’s European Launcher Challenge.