Isar Aerospace has secured another launch contract with D-Orbit selecting Spectrum to carry its ION orbital transfer tug. The mission is expected to be launched no earlier than 2023 from Norway’s Andøya Space facility.
Italian orbital transfer services startup D-Orbit was founded in 2011. The company operates its ION orbital transfer tug, which has been launched on six separate missions, the most recent of which carried four satellites aboard the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission in May. The tug allows rideshare customers to be placed into distinct orbital slots individually instead of being released en masse into a generic orbit.
“We are pleased to welcome D-Orbit on-board Spectrum’s flight and thank the D-Orbit team for the trust they place in us. We are looking forward to working towards our common goal of reducing the barriers to flexible space access”, said Isar CCO Stella Guillen.
The D-Orbit contract is the fifth commercial launch contract that Isar has secured in the last 18 months.
Airbus Defence and Space signed on to be Isar’s first customer in April 2021 to launch an as-yet-unnamed Earth Observation satellite. In the following months of 2021, Isar signed launch contracts with OroraTech, EnduroSat, and Astrocast, with both OroraTech and EnduroSat signing multi-launch agreements.
In addition to its commercial contracts, Isar is also set to launch two 150 kg institutional payloads over Spectrum’s first two flights as part of the German Space Agency’s DLR Microlauncher Competition. As the winners of the first round of the competition, Isar received €11 million and the honour of launching the institutional payloads free of charge.
Isar is currently working towards the maiden launch of its Spectrum rocket, which is designed to be capable of delivering 700 kg payloads to SSO. The company had initially targeted 2022 for the vehicle’s maiden flight. However, this launch date has now been pushed out to sometime in 2023.
