German launch services provider Isar Aerospace has announced that the stages for the second flight of its Spectrum rocket have arrived at its launch facility in Norway.
Isar Aerospace launched the inaugural flight of its 28-metre, two-stage Spectrum rocket on 30 March. Less than thirty seconds after liftoff, the rocket’s Flight Termination System was triggered and the vehicle splashed down in the Norwegian Sea just metres from the launch pad, exploding on impact.
Following an investigation, the company identified an unintended opening of the vent valve, together with a loss of attitude control at the start of the rocket’s roll manoeuvre, as the cause of the failure. In September, when the findings of the investigation were made public, Isar Aerospace’s Vice President of Mission and Launch Operations, Alexandre Dalloneau, explained that the necessary corrective actions had been implemented and that the company was “eager to return to the pad soon.”
On 13 November, an Isar Aerospace update on its social channels revealed that, just over seven months after its first flight ended in a fireball, the company had returned to its launch facilities at the Andøya Spaceport in Norway in preparation for the rocket’s second flight. While brief, the update stated that the main and upper stages for the flight had arrived at the company’s launch pad and that it was “gearing up for pre-flight testing.” The update did not include an expected launch date.
A road-closure notice for the area around the launch facility, published by Andøya Space on 9 October, detailed operations planned for weeks 43 to 51 of 2025, covering late October through 21 December. It remains unclear, however, whether the notice is related to Isar Aerospace’s launch activities.
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