Isar Aerospace reaches orbit on second launch attempt

Germany’s Isar Aerospace successfully placed its two-stage Spectrum rocket into low-Earth orbit from a spaceport in Norway inside the Arctic Circle. The launch took place on Saturday.

It was the company’s second launch attempt, making Isar the first purely commercial European launch developer to reach orbit. Three students at a German university founded the company in 2018.

Over eight years, Isar raised about $1 billion in private financing and grew to nearly 500 employees. Its achievement strengthens the company’s position among European startups seeking to introduce more competition to the continent’s launch market.

UK funds space infrastructure

The UK government unveiled a national space strategy and allocated £7.8 billion ($10.5 billion) through 2030. About 40% of the funding will support connectivity programs, including Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit and SKYNET.

The government will also provide £30 million ($40.5 million) for SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. German company Rocket Factory Augsburg is its main tenant; no orbital rocket has yet launched successfully from the UK.

European launch plans

Firefly Aerospace agreed with SSC Space to conduct two Alpha launches from Sweden’s Esrange Space Center. The missions are targeted for no earlier than 2028 and will serve Sweden’s national-security customers and commercial users.

Avio wants to raise Vega-C’s flight rate to six missions annually, with a possible later increase to nine. Chief executive Giulio Ranzo identified supplies of solid rocket motors shared with Ariane 6 as one source of supply-chain constraints.

Arianespace and Amazon Leo added six Ariane 64 launches to their satellite-deployment agreement. The total rose from 18 to 24 missions, scheduled through 2031 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

New rockets and spacecraft

US launch company Stoke Space raised $1 billion and is accelerating development of a larger Nova variant. The fully reusable Block 2 is designed to lift 15 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, have a 15-foot diameter and make its debut in 2029.

Aevum said its Ravn X autonomous vehicle completed a second test at Long Beach, including its first fully autonomous taxi lasting about 37 minutes. Founder Jay Skylus said the company was still reviewing telemetry; no imminent flights are expected.

The Exploration Company and Arianespace agreed to launch the reusable Nyx cargo capsule on Ariane 6 from French Guiana. Chief executive Hélène Huby is targeting late 2028 for a mission to the International Space Station.