Poland-based rocket builder SpaceForest has signed an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to launch its Perun rocket from the Portuguese island of Santa Maria in 2026.
SpaceForest began developing the one-stage 11.5-metre Perun sounding rocket under its Suborbital Inexpensive Rocket Project initiative in early 2018. The company launched a pair of test flights in 2023, both of which had been aborted midflight before reaching the 50-kilometre target altitude. In October 2024, the company received €2.4 million in new funding through the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme, which has gone toward upgrading the rocket’s SF1000 hybrid propulsion system ahead of its next flight.
On 18 July, SpaceForest announced that it had signed an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to launch a mission from the nascent spaceport on the island of Santa Maria. It is the second launch site agreement the company has signed this week, following a deal with Danish firm EuroSpaceport for a Perun mission from a floating platform in the North Sea in the second half of 2026. The Santa Maria flight is scheduled to take place earlier, with the launch planned for the first half of 2026.
According to a 18 July Atlantic Spaceport Consortium press release, the Perun launch from its Santa Maria facility will be supported by the Portuguese Space Agency and the European Space Agency, through the agency’s Boost! Programme.
“What the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium is aiming to develop is an open spaceport, where vehicle operators can find all their operational requirements satisfied,” said Atlantic Spaceport Consortium Director Bruno Carvalho. “Bringing Perun to Santa Maria allows us to validate that concept further and to keep improving our offering.”
Under the contract, the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium will support the SpaceForest mission by obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and launch licences, and by providing operational support on the island, including the recovery of the rocket following splashdown.
“Signing this contract with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium marks a significant milestone for SpaceForest,” said Marcin Sarnowski, Sales and Marketing Director at SpaceForest. “It provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate the unique capabilities of our Perun suborbital rocket at Santa Maria, and to collaborate in building a truly open and accessible spaceport. This partnership will accelerate the commercialization of suborbital flight services and broaden access to affordable, eco-friendly space research and technology testing for our clients across Europe.”
With the flight from Santa Maria, SpaceForest expects Perun to reach a maximum altitude of around 100 kilometres, the widely accepted boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space, known as the Kármán line.
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