Milestones
- First flight from Andøya fails ~30 s after liftoff30 Mar 2025Complete.
- Second flight reaches orbit and deploys payloads5 Sep 2026Complete.
- Regular commercial flightsNowCurrent milestone.
Most important updates
- 25d ago
- 5 Sep 2026
- 30 Mar 2025
- Mar 2023
- Apr 2021
Current obstacles
- Steering early in flightThe first flight lost control right after liftoff; the steering and venting systems were redesigned.
Physics limits
- Small rockets are less efficient by geometryAvionics, engines, valves and tank walls don't shrink in step with the rocket, and drag and gravity losses weigh more on a small vehicle. So payload as a share of liftoff mass falls as rockets get smaller.
- The rocket equation makes payload a sliver of launch massOrbit needs about 9.4 km/s of speed change including losses. Fuel needed grows exponentially with that, so even the best rockets put only 2 to 5% of their liftoff mass into low orbit.
- Chemical propellants have a hard energy ceilingExhaust speed is set by the energy in the chemical bonds. Methane-oxygen tops out near 3.7 km/s and hydrogen-oxygen near 4.5 km/s; no engine design can beat the chemistry.
How it works
Engines
Nine Aquila engines
Nine Aquila engines on the first stage and one on the second burn propane and liquid oxygen.
Fuel
Why propane
Propane is denser than methane and burns cleaner than kerosene, a middle path that keeps tanks small and engines free of soot.
Base
Launching from Norway
Spectrum flies from Andøya, far north, which suits polar and sun-synchronous orbits used by Earth-observation satellites.
Update log
Tue 15 Sep
- Minor: PressCommercial
Sat 5 Sep
- Major: PressTest
Sun 30 Mar 2025
- Major: LivestreamTest
Mar 2023
- Minor: PressFunding
Apr 2021
- Minor: OtherCommercial
About Isar Aerospace
Isar Aerospace
Spectrum small rocket, Europe
A startup near Munich building the Spectrum small rocket, launched from Norway. Its second flight in Sep 2026 made it the first private European company to put satellites in orbit.
- Spectrum's first flight on 30 March 2025 failed about 30 seconds after liftoff.
- The second flight reached orbit on 5 Sep 2026 and released all its satellites.
- First successful orbital launch from Western Europe's mainland.
isaraerospace.com (opens isaraerospace.com)Company profile →
- Founded
- 20188 yrs
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Status
- Private
- Valuation
- private
- Works in
- SpaceflightLaunch
- Coverage
- 1 program · 5 updateslatest 25d agochecked 25 Sep
- People
- Daniel MetzlerCo-founder and CEO