Feldkirch start-up Isar Aerospace takes off: Successful rocket test!

Feldkirch start-up Isar Aerospace takes off: Successful rocket test!

Andøy, Norwegen - Isar Aerospace, a Bavarian space start-up, carried out the first test flight of his newly developed Spectrum rocket from the Norwegian space station in Andoya on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. According to vol.at took about 30 seconds before the rocket fell into the sea in a controlled manner. Although the flight could not achieve full functionality, Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace, evaluates the test as a "great success" because valuable data was collected.

This test is a double premiere: it is both the first flight for Isar Aerospace and the first start of an orbitian rocket from European soil. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the start had to be postponed several times. Nevertheless, the successful test flight shows the potential of Isar Aerospace to increase the competitiveness of the German space industry. Economic Minister Robert Habeck described the test start as a "milestone" for the German space.

Technical details of the Spectrum rocket

The Spectrum rocket has a length of 28 meters and a diameter of 2 meters. Depending on the intended orbit, it can carry a payload of 700 to 1,000 kilos. For comparison: The Falcon 9 of SpaceX is 70 meters long and can transport up to 22.8 tons. This shows that the European start-up companies, which also include Isar Aerospace, want to play a strong role in the global space sector and when satellites start. The start-up has already collected over 400 million euros in capital, including from Porsche Se.

Aerospace is currently working on the development of a second and third Spectrum rocket. In addition, the company expects not only national but also international customers to support them in satellite starts. More and more German start-ups, including Rocket Factory Augsburg, are interested in developing private sponsorship rockets and becoming active in the orbital rocket start, which heats up a new competition in the space sector, which has previously been dominated by companies such as SpaceX, such as zdf.de reported.

Requirements and expectations

The European space industry is under pressure to keep up with the big players in the industry. This is particularly evident through the demands for further investments: For the competitiveness of German space travel, the funds are required to increase the funds to 500 million euros for the national space program and 6 billion euros for the European space organization (ESA). Marie-Christine von Hahn, general manager of the Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry, described the test flight of Isar Aerospace as a pioneering step to strengthen European space competence.

The challenges are great. Europe's current dependence on outsiders, such as American companies for rocket starts, contradicts the ambitions to establish an independent and competitive space industry. So far, Germany had emerged more as a supplier in space content instead of a serious player on the global market. However, according to zdf.de , the successful test flight from Isar Aerospace shows that this could gradually change.