Isar Aerospace: Spectrum test flight postponed again due to technical issues

Delay quartet Isar Aerospace has to Postpone the Second Test Flight

2026-06-18 Source: dpa | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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The Spectrum rocket of the Bavarian space start-up Isar Aerospace was supposed to launch for its second test flight a while ago. But once again, something got in the way...

The Spectrum rocket from Isar Aerospace has once again been forced to remain grounded. For the fourth time, the second test flight had to be postponed...(Image: Isar Aerospace) — The Spectrum rocket from Isar Aerospace has once again been forced to remain grounded. For the fourth time, the second test flight had to be postponed...
(Image: Isar Aerospace)

The stated reason for the renewed postponement of the Spectrum rocket's test flight by Isar Aerospace was once again a technical issue, as the company announced on its website. According to the rocket builders, there was a malfunction in the fluid systems. However, further explanations were not provided in the brief statement. As is well known, a rocket's fluid systems regulate the storage and transport of liquid fuel to the engines. The second test flight was originally planned for earlier this year, but launch preparations were already canceled in January, March, and April. First, there was a technical problem, then a Norwegian fisherman was lingering in the danger zone, and once again with the third attempt, the technology failed.

Europe wants to become more independent from SpaceX

The Spectrum is intended, as Isar Aerospace has long stated, to transport civilian and military satellites into low Earth orbits (a few hundred kilometers above the ground) once it reaches series production maturity. The goal of the Ottobrunn-based company is to manufacture around 40 rockets per year. Furthermore, it is reported that the Bavarian company is already fully booked with orders worth several million dollars until 2028, despite the rocket clearly not yet being ready for series production. The importance of the startup, founded only in 2018, to German politics was underscored by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who visited the site in Andøya on the 13th.

In March, together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, he visited. The reason for the Spectrum's attractiveness is Europe's current inability to launch satellites into space with its own technology. For a long time, the majority of European satellites have therefore been launched into space by the US space company SpaceX.

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