Isar Aerospace had to scrap the launch of its Spectrum rocket earlier this week due to unfavorable wind conditions at the Norwegian launch site on the island of Andøya. However, with a launch window still open until the end of the month, the team behind the rocket is hopeful that they can launch it before the end of the week.
Isar Aerospace was launched in 2018 by a team of German students who wanted to ape the SpaceX model of launching lightweight payloads into low Earth orbit (LEO) with a privately developed rocket design. They’ve since developed the Spectrum, a two-stage liquid-fuelled rocket that should be capable of delivering up to a 2,200lb payload into LEO. It is designed to utilize nearby businesses and internal teams to manufacture as much as 80% of the rocket, helping to keep costs low and the business rapid and responsive.
Spectrum’s launch would have been a milestone for the European space industry, as it would have been the first privately designed and operated rocket in the EU. It would have been the first flight of the 28-meter tall rocket with all of its systems enabled, so the developers at Isar were hoping to gather invaluable data on how it works and what tweaks might be needed for future versions. Unfortunately, that proved impossible with errant weather conditions.
Credit: Isar Aerospace
Although a date hasn’t yet been set for the second launch attempt, Isar Aerospace hopes to conduct it within the next few days.
The European Union has the European Space Agency (ESA), a governmental body managed by 23 member states. It has its own ventures and rockets, notably the Ariane 5 and Vega launch vehicles. But it has been criticized for its slow pace in responding to the growth and advances of SpaceX and other US rocket companies. Isar Aerospace is a private entity that operates separately from the ESA but has received over 400 million euros ($435 million) in investment from various entities in recent years.
It will use those funds to continue developing the Spectrum, with plans to build as many as 40 launch vehicles a year. It is hoping to capture a major portion of the burgeoning small satellite industry, which is projected to be worth upwards of $30 billion by the 2030s. It will also give the EU another launch vehicle that is separate from US oversight, which many EU countries now see as necessary following the changes in foreign policy under the Trump administration.