Isar Aerospace is preparing for its first test flight, having successfully completed static firings of both stages of its launch vehicle ‘Spectrum’. The first flight will take place from Andøya Spaceport in Norway as soon as possible following Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approval and licensing.
On February 14, Isar Aerospace completed the pre-flight stage testing operations with a 30 second, integrated, nine-engine static fire test of Stage 1, resulting in the qualification of the launch vehicle for flight. Stage 2 had already been qualified in a static fire test in 2024-Q3. Isar Aerospace has developed proprietary know-how through full in-house vertical integration, spanning design, production, and testing and launch operations.
Isar Aerospace’s first test flight will mark the first launch of an orbital launch vehicle from continental Europe. The team successfully completed all milestones of pre-flight preparations, including testing and accepting all in-house developed engines, the payload fairing, and static fire tests of both stages. The launch period for Spectrum’s first test flight will be determined as part of NCAA’s licensing procedure. The test flight will be conducted from Isar Aerospace’s exclusive launch site at Andøya Spaceport in Norway.
“We are almost ready for the test flight. All we need is the license,” said Daniel Metzler, Isar Aerospace CEO and Co-Founder. “By enabling space access from mainland Europe, we provide a critical resource for ensuring sovereignty and resilience. Regarding the first test flight he adds: “I am extremely proud of our international team from over 50 nations. Reaching this milestone is a huge success in itself. And while Spectrum is ready for its first test flight, launch vehicles for flights two and three are already in production.”
“Owning the entire value chain of ‘Spectrum’ gives us maximum flexibility and independence,” said Josef Fleischmann, Isar Aerospace CTO and Co-Founder. “We develop, build, and test almost the entire launch vehicle in-house, including our ‘Aquila’ engines. The flight will be the first integrated test of tens of thousands of components. Regardless of how far we get, this first test flight will hopefully generate an enormous amount of data and experience which we can apply to future missions.”
