German startup sends first commercial rocket into space from Europe

Isar Aerospace, a German startup, achieved a significant milestone by launching the first commercial rocket into orbit from continental Europe. This marks a breakthrough for Europe, which is striving to secure independent access to space as the global order shifts. The company's Spectrum rocket was successfully launched from Andøya Spaceport in Arctic Norway, carrying five small satellites and an in-flight technology experiment.

Isar's co-founder and CEO, Daniel Metzler, emphasized that "launch capability is right now the biggest bottleneck in the entire industry."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the launch as the beginning of a new era, underscoring Europe's growing autonomy in space exploration. Andrius Kubilius, the EU defence and space commissioner, also praised the achievement, stating that "Europe's independent access to space just got a major boost." This launch comes 18 months after Isar's first attempt, which ended in failure when the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff from the same site.

Isar Aerospace has production lines for five more rockets and is focused on scaling up operations to meet rising demand. The company aims to conduct about 40 launches a year in the long term. Additionally, Isar is developing a second launch site in Nova Scotia, Canada. The global satellite launch market is dominated by companies such as SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, which launches from the US, and ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran that uses a spaceport in French Guiana, South America.