German rocket builder Isar Aerospace has told European Spaceflight that the company is “currently performing hot fire tests of the first and second stages” that will be used for the inaugural flight of its Spectrum rocket.
Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and is developing a two-stage rocket called Spectrum. Once operational, the rocket will be capable of delivering payloads of up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The company is working toward a maiden flight of the rocket which will be conducted from Andøya Spaceport in Norway.
To date, Isar has made few public statements regarding its progress toward the inaugural flight of Spectrum. However, in late August Andøya Space began publishing road closures around its orbital launch facility. Since Isar is the only company that has secured a launchpad at the facility, this was a fairly good indication that it had begun testing at the recently inaugurated orbital launch site.
In response to questioning from European Spaceflight, Isar confirmed that all components of the Spectrum rocket that will be utilized for its inaugural flight had arrived in Andøya and that testing of the first and second stages had begun.
“All components of our launch vehicle Spectrum have arrived in Andøya and the final preparations for the first test flight of Spectrum are in full swing,” an Isar Aerospace spokesperson said. “We are currently performing hot fire tests of the first and second stages. These tests will determine whether the systems meet all the necessary requirements for the first test flight.”
On September 19, SpaceNews reported that during a World Space Business Week panel, Isar COO Stella Guillen stated that the company was “targeting for sure this year” for the inaugural flight of Spectrum. However, the spokesperson talking to European Spaceflight was less inclined to make that prediction.
“Depending on the results of these tests, and when we will receive the NCAA license, we will carry out the first test flight as soon as possible.”
