Isar Aerospace

[Yazata]

Isar Aerospace is another small German "new space" startup like RFA. Like RFA they are based in Bavaria (Munich this time) and like RFA they have a small satellite launcher in the same size range as SpaceX's old Falcon 1 and Rocketlab's current very successful Electron.

They call it Spectrum and they hope to launch it for the first time on Friday March 28. The launch site is kind of exotic, the Andoya Space Center on Norway's remote northern arctic coast. The launch site has been there for years and has specialized in launching small suborbital sounding rockets to study various arctic phenomena like the auroras. Spectrum will be its first orbital launch and (as far as I know) the first orbital flight ever launched from Europe (Russia excluded).

It's 68 years since Sputnik, it's time the rest of Europe wakes up.

NASASpaceflight.com will be streaming it. (Many of their members live in Europe as does their founder, England's Chris Bergin.)

https://isaraerospace.com/

https://isaraerospace.com/first-test-flight

(Isar Aerospace photo)

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nsNS

[Yazata]

Welp... it lit its engines, lifted off, cleared the tower, and attempted its pitch-downrange maneuver.

At that point it appears to have lost control. It's engines were visible desperately vectoring thrust in hopes of controlling it. When that failed the engines shut down and the fuel-laden rocket fell back into the water narrowly missing the pad and exploding.

Video here:

https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/190...1083581704

[Yazata]

Well, ISAR Aerospace is attempting another launch of their orbital rocket from northern Norway. ISAR is a European "new space" startup, a rare breed. I'd love to see them succeed. Time is 8 PM UTC, 12 noon Pacific and 3 PM Eastern.

https://www.youtube.com/live/Ss1DUqLjecc

[Yazata]

Good launch, good stage separation, good orbit insertion!

This is a very big day for European "new-space"! A little German startup from Munich has succeeded on its second try!

The second stage is currently in an elliptical parking orbit, waiting to perform an orbit circularization burn when it reaches apogee. At that point it will release its payloads - six small cubesats from various German universities.

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[Yazata]

Circularization burn complete. Payload deploy confirmed!