A private German company, Isar Aerospace, successfully launched the Spectrum rocket from a spaceport in Norway. The rocket reached low Earth orbit and deployed five satellites. For the company, this is a particularly important result: it managed to complete an orbital launch on its second attempt.
The first attempt took place on March 30, 2025, and ended about 30 seconds after liftoff. Because of a valve problem, the rocket lost control and fell into the sea. This time, Isar Aerospace managed to fix the error and take Spectrum to orbit.
The path strongly recalls the early history of SpaceX: failure, error analysis, another attempt — and finally orbit. If Isar Aerospace and other European companies can make such launches routine, the market will become more competitive, and putting satellites into orbit will become more accessible and flexible.
