Isar Aerospace confirms all satellites operational after historic European launch

German rocket startup Isar Aerospace made European space history on Saturday, successfully launching its Spectrum rocket into orbit from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway — the first time a commercial launch vehicle developed in Europe has reached orbit and deployed satellites.

The mission, dubbed "Onward and Upward," lifted off at 10:12 pm CEST on September 5, with the 28-meter-tall, two-stage rocket reaching low-Earth orbit seven minutes later. Spectrum deployed five cubesats and one experiment organized through the European Space Agency's "Boost!" program, including satellites from universities in Berlin, Vienna, Maribor, and Trondheim. By Tuesday, Isar Aerospace confirmed that all customer payloads had been released in orbit and most satellites had already established contact and begun operations.satellitetoday+3

A Comeback After Failure

The achievement is all the more striking given that Isar's first launch attempt in March 2025 ended with the rocket crashing into the sea 30 seconds after liftoff. Founded in 2018 by three students at the Technical University of Munich, the company has moved from failure to a milestone that drew praise from across Europe's space establishment.politico+1

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher called the launch "historic" and "yet another step towards a more diverse autonomous European launch service sector". Germany's Ministry for Research, Technology and Space described it as "a milestone that impressively demonstrates our country's innovative strength and technical expertise".politico

Sovereign Access and Scaling Up

CEO and co-founder Daniel Metzler framed the launch in strategic terms. "Europe now has sovereign access to space. We have entered into a new chapter for European spaceflight," he said. In a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday, Metzler said the company's new 40,000-square-meter production facility will allow it to build up to 40 rockets per year.bloomberg+1

Isar Aerospace has already begun production on launch vehicles three through seven and holds contracts stretching to 2028, including deals with Planet ↘ 8.30%, Astroscale, and roughly $230 million in ESA funding to develop next-generation vehicles and expand infrastructure. Reuters reported that the launch marks a breakthrough for a region where several countries are seeking a foothold in the fast-growing satellite launch market.satellitetoday+1

The success puts Isar ahead of a pack of European launch startups and gives the continent an alternative to dependence on SpaceX and other American providers for orbital access — though Europe still lacks a heavy-lift rocket comparable to the Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy.arstechnica