A German startup just did what Europe could not do for 40 years

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On 5 September 2026, Germany’s Isar Aerospace flew its 28-metre Spectrum rocket to orbit from Andoya in Arctic Norway, the first privately built vehicle to reach orbit from Western European soil. It runs on liquid oxygen and propane, is roughly 80 percent built in-house, and reached orbit on only its second attempt.

On the night of September 5, 2026, a rocket lifted off from a small island inside the Arctic Circle. Standing 28 metres tall and two metres wide, it was built by a company that did not exist ten years ago. Around seven minutes later, it reached orbit. Five CubeSats and one experiment were deployed from the fairing, giving Europe something it had never had before: a privately built rocket reaching orbit from European soil.

The rocket is called Spectrum, and it was developed by Munich-based Isar Aerospace. This was its second flight; its first attempt, in March 2025, lasted only thirty seconds. Europe is not a newcomer to space. It has been launching its own rockets since 1979 and began selling commercial launches before anyone else. However, since the advent of the space race, the continent has relied heavily on state-backed agencies.

Now, in 2026, a German startup has placed five CubeSats into orbit for the first time. China achieved its first private orbital launch in 2019, India followed in July 2026, and the United States did so in 2008. Europe—the continent that invented the commercial launch business—is arriving last.

22 days ago

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A German startup just did what Europe could not do for 40 years

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