Europe aerospace takes off with commercial satellite launch

German firm Isar Aerospace has become the first European commercial space company to fly satellites into orbit.

The launch took place at a dedicated complex at Andøya Space in Norway.

Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace, said launch missions continue to be the largest bottleneck for the global space industry and its arrival meant a “new chapter for European spaceflight”. Its order pipeline exceeds €10bn.

“Europe now has sovereign access to space,” he said. “We will now focus on rapidly scaling launch vehicle production, deliver on our order pipeline, and meet surging global demand.”

The mission’s payloads were selected through the Microlauncher Competition of the German Space Agency at DLR that provides educational institutions and start-ups with low-cost access to space. Its website states the 28m long Spectrum rockets feature Aquila engines running on oxygen and propane propellant.

Last week the company signed a launch service agreement with Astroscale Japan to launch the active debris removal mission ADRAS-J2 aboard its Spectrum launch vehicle.

It is constructing a launch complex in Nova Scotia, Canada, covering mid- to high-inclination orbits critical for Earth observation and communications.

Spectrum launch vehicles 3-7 are in production. With the opening of the new 40,000sqm production facility, Isar Aerospace is targeting manufacturing up to 40 launch vehicles per year.

Other notable players in Europe aiming to scale up mini-launchers include France’s MaiaSpace and Spain’s PLD Space.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and commercial space programmes is creating a , according to Messer CEO Bernd Eulitz.