The inaugural flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket is scheduled to take place between 20 and 30 March 2025 from Andøya Spaceport in Norway.
On 12 March, Andøya Space, the mostly government-owned commercial entity that operates Andøya Spaceport, published a launch period notice covering 20 to 30 March. In relation to a maritime danger-area warning, the notice specifies launch windows between 12:30 and 16:30 CET throughout the 11-day period.
While the notice does not explicitly mention Isar Aerospace, as the company is currently the launch site’s sole customer, it can only refer to Isar. The company had yet to make a formal announcement regarding the published launch window. However, on 17 March, Isar published an update confirming the window and stating it was ready for flight “subject to weather, safety and range infrastructure.”
In February, Isar announced that it had completed the final major milestone in the development of its two-stage Spectrum rocket with the successful test-firing of both the first and second stages. At the time, the company stated that the only remaining hurdle before its inaugural launch attempt was obtaining a launch licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway (NCAA). On 14 March, the NCAA announced that Isar Aerospace had been granted permission to conduct a test launch of its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport. According to the update, the launch period approved is from 20 to 31 March.
As part of its commitment to the German aerospace agency DLR, as winners of its Microlauncher Competition, the company was expected to carry approximately 100 kilograms of small satellites for commercial and institutional customers on each of Spectrum’s first two flights. However, it has chosen to defer this commitment to later missions, instead focusing solely on ensuring a successful inaugural flight.
“This is a test flight aiming to collect as much data and experience as possible. Against the initial plan, we won’t have satellites on board,” an Isar Aerospace spokesperson told European Spaceflight.
Updates: This story was updated on 17 March to include the NCAA launch licence approval. It was updated again on 18 March to reflect the fact that the flight will not include any customer payloads.
