German startup ISAR Aerospace achieved a historic milestone as its Spectrum rocket reached orbit from Europe's Andøya Spaceport in Norway, marking the first time an orbital-class vehicle launched from European soil. This comes from the company's second launch attempt, following a partial failure in their inaugural flight in April 2024.
Background
ISAR Aerospace is a German private space company focused on developing the Spectrum medium-lift rocket for small satellite deployment. Europe has long lacked a domestic orbital launch capability, relying on SpaceX and others for access to orbit.
- Source
- Hacker News (RSS)
- Published
- Sep 6, 2026 at 04:31 AM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10