German company Isar Aerospace has raised $US165 ($229) million in order to ramp up the development of its Spectrum rocket, which is scheduled for its debut launch later this year. For Europeans needing access to space, the rocket’s arrival will come not a moment too soon.
On Tuesday, the company announced the results of its latest round of funding from investors that included German carmaker Porsche SE and HV Capital, as well as private investors backed by the European Union. “Isar Aerospace offers the access to space that is urgently needed for commercial, institutional and government customers,” Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace, said in the press release. “This financing round marks another important step on our journey to orbit.”
Isar Aerospace has raised a total of $US330 ($458) million so far, with $US75 ($104) million raised during its previous round of funding in July 2021. The funds will go towards the development of Isar’s Spectrum rocket, a two-stage launch vehicle designed to carry small and medium sized satellites to orbit. According to ISAR, Spectrum should be capable of carrying 2,205 pounds (1,000 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO). By comparison, SpaceX’s medium-lift Falcon 9 can hoist 50,265 pounds (22,800 kg) to LEO.
Spectrum’s inaugural launch is planned for the second half of 2023. Isar Aerospace is currently running tests on the rocket’s Aquila engine, which was developed and manufactured in-house. The company is also finalising its infrastructure at the launch site in Andøya, Norway, which will host Spectrum’s debut liftoff.
Spectrum’s planned debut could not come at a better time for the European space industry. In December 2022, Arianespace’s Vega-C rocket suffered a malfunction that resulted in its destruction and its launches were suspended. This happened just a few months after Vega-C’s long awaited debut, which was meant to fill the gap in the European market. Vega-C can lift 5,070 pounds (2,300 kg) to LEO, making it more than twice as powerful as Spectrum. With Vega-C on the disabled list, Europe’s backlog of space missions went from bad to worse.
The European Space Agency (ESA) previously relied on Russia’s Soyuz rockets to launch its satellites to space. But in February 2022, Russia halted Soyuz launches from French Guiana and pulled its personnel from the space base in retaliation to the European sanctions imposed against it following the invasion of Ukraine. That left key European missions in limbo, including two Galileo navigation satellites, ESA’s Euclid space observatory, EarthCARE Earth science satellites, and a French reconnaissance satellite.
Europe’s two remaining options were Vega-C and Ariane 6. The successor to Ariane 5, Ariane 6, was originally slated for launch in 2020, but has suffered numerous delays and is now scheduled to fly by the end of the year. With a lifting capacity of 47,730 pounds (21,650 kg) to LEO, Ariane 6 compares best with Falcon 9 in terms of strength. And indeed, ESA was forced to turn to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its Euclid telescope in July, as well as rockets from India or Japan for other missions.
As for U.S. rockets that compare to Spectrum, the situation isn’t much better. Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha finally reached orbit last year but its payload didn’t stay there. ABL Space Systems’s RS1 rocket fell back to Earth shortly after liftoff in January, and the recent launch of Relativity Space’s Terran 1 failed to reach orbit on its first flight. As this is happening, Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is having to furlough staff and restructure is finances, in a grim situation prompted by a recent launch failure.
Europe is desperately in need of its own launch vehicles, whether for small or medium lift, to provide local access to space. Spectrum won’t be the most powerful rocket when it debuts, but it’ll fill a troublesome gap, especially until Vega-C and Ariane 6 come through.
Additional reporting by George Dvorsky.