Just a few days before our call, Isar Aerospace had made history by successfully launching its first Spectrum rocket. The launch occurred on 26 October from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway. This event marked the first-ever orbital launch attempt from European soil, showcasing the advancements in space technology and the potential for future missions.
The 95-foot-tall (28 meters) rocket had no problems lifting off, achieving a healthy flight that lasted just over two minutes. Despite the test flight only being 30 seconds long, it was a complete success according to Isar Aerospace’s standards. The rocket went up with a clean liftoff, sending a spectacular orange and white plume skyward into the deep blue Arctic sky. Minutes later, it rolled over and re-entered, crashing shortly thereafter into the icy ocean surrounding the launchpad. Fortunately, the launch pad and the infrastructure surrounding it were not damaged in that mishap.
Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-founder of Isar Aerospace was pleased with the results of the test flight.
“We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our flight termination system.” – Daniel Metzler
The flight termination system safety feature was validated in this test, assuring the operational capabilities of the potentially life-saving system. While a successful validation like this is an important step for future launches, what’s key to note here is that it proves such safety mechanisms have been adopted.
Here’s what Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, had to say about the importance of this launch.
“A test flight is exactly that: a test to gather data, learn and improve.” – Josef Aschbacher
Aschbacher congratulated Isar Aerospace for best demonstrating success on this attempt.
“Everything Isar Aerospace achieved today is remarkable, and they will have lots of data to analyze.” – Josef Aschbacher
Today’s launch was an important landmark for Isar Aerospace. It is an important time for the whole European space industry. It shows the increasing capabilities and aspirations in Europe to be active players in exploring space and deploying their own satellites.
