The inaugural launch of the Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket ended in failure on 30 March, less than thirty seconds into its flight.
Spectrum is a two-stage rocket standing approximately 28 metres tall and designed to deliver up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. It is powered by ten Aquila engines developed in-house, with nine on the first stage and a vacuum-optimized version on the upper stage. The engines burn liquid oxygen and liquid propane. While initial launches will take place from Andøya Spaceport in Norway, Isar Aerospace has also secured access to a new commercial launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre.
The inaugural Spectrum mission, which the company called “Going Full Spectrum,” lifted off at 12:30 CET on 30 March from Isar Aerospace’s dedicated launch pad at Andøya Spaceport. Originally slated for 24 March, the launch was delayed several times due to unfavorable weather.
After a successful liftoff, the rocket’s vector control system appeared to begin overcorrecting around 18 seconds into the flight. Approximately 10 seconds later, all first-stage engines shut down, and the rocket began falling. The broadcast director cut away just before an explosion was heard. While the rocket appeared to fall close to the launchpad exploding as it hit the ground, Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler has confirmed that the it “didn’t blow up the pad.”
“Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success,” said Metzler. “We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our Flight Termination System.”
“Success to get off the pad, and lots of data already obtained,” said ESA director general Josef Aschbacher
following the failure. “I am sure Isar Aerospace will learn a lot. Rocket launch is hard. Never give up, move forward with even more energy!”
Prior to the launch, Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler announced that the company was already working on its second and third Spectrum rockets, adding that it would “swiftly return to the launch pad no matter the outcome of the first flight test.”
Founded in 2018, Isar Aerospace has raised over €400 million, most recently closing a €65 million Series C extension in June 2024 that included a contribution from the NATO Innovation Fund. In May 2024, the company signed a contract with commercial real estate developer VGP Group to build its new headquarters on a 40,000-square-metre plot near Munich. According to Isar, the facility will be “the world’s most modern production facility for orbital launch vehicles.” Once completed, it will be capable of producing up to 40 Spectrum rockets per year.
