German Spectrum Rocket Launch Aborted Again After Leak

Leak in pressure vessel Launch Attempt for German "Spectrum" Rocket Aborted Again

2026-04-10 Source: dpa 2 min Reading Time

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The latest launch attempt of the German "Spectrum" rocket, developed by Bavarian space firm Isar Aerospace, was aborted on Thursday evening at the Andøya spaceport in Norway.

"Isar Aerospace is standing down from today’s launch attempt to investigate a leak in a pressure vessel," the company said about an hour before the scheduled liftoff. The teams on site were assessing the situation and would decide on next steps.

Short launch windows and local obstacles

The company carried out an initial test flight just over a year ago — that mission ended after roughly 30 seconds when the vehicle crashed into the sea in a fireball. Subsequent launch attempts have been postponed for unfavourable weather, or cancelled for technical reasons and, most recently, because a fisherman remained in the safety zone.

Launch windows at Andøya are often only around 15 minutes long. This is due in part to the region’s Nordic weather, the need to secure the waters beneath the flight path (which are also fishing grounds), and the requirement to insert the rocket into the correct orbital trajectory.

Christoph Ketterle,Principle at Horváth AG. (Source: Horváth AG)

Competition with SpaceX

For this second attempt the rocket was carrying five research satellites and a scientific experiment, all intended for orbit. Isar Aerospace had aimed to bring the Spectrum to commercial readiness faster than US rival SpaceX, which took four attempts to reach orbit.

High hopes for European space industry

High hopes rest on the Spectrum, which can carry up to one tonne of payload. Once in series production it is intended to place civil and military satellites into low Earth orbit, a few hundred kilometres above the ground. Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler says the company is already booked through 2028, despite the rocket not yet being production‑ready.

Europe currently relies heavily on US firm SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, to launch satellites. Metzler noted that last year the US launched 198 rockets, the rest of the world 124, and Europe only eight.

Metzler expressed confidence that orbit will be achieved. "Cancellations are part of the space industry," he said. "Every attempt gives us valuable experience and trains us on our path to orbit."

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