Isar Aerospace Has Reached Orbit Once. Its CEO Says It Could Catch SpaceX

Isar Aerospace could attempt a third flight of its Spectrum rocket from Andøya, Norway, as early as November 26, after Norwegian air navigation provider Avinor opened a window that runs through February 17.

The company has not announced a launch date. Chief executive Daniel Metzler still talks as if the German startup can close the gap with SpaceX, speaking Tuesday at a conference in Germany, according to AFP.

Isar has flown Spectrum twice from Andøya. The first attempt, on March 30, 2025, failed about 30 seconds after liftoff. The second, on September 5, 2026, reached orbit and deployed a handful of small satellites, making Isar the first privately financed European company to do so.

SpaceX is on a different clock. On August 25, a Falcon 9 first-stage booster made its 37th flight, carrying Starlink satellites.

About 18 months ago, 85 percent of inquiries were commercial and 15 percent were military, Metzler said, “and that ratio has since flipped.” He said Isar is 15 times oversubscribed for 2028 launches. “There’s 14 customers for every rocket that we have to disappoint,” he said.

“SpaceX was founded in 2002. Back then I was playing with Pokemon cards,” Metzler said. “Looking at what could happen in the next 18 years, I wouldn’t rule out us being further ahead than SpaceX.” Asked if Isar could one day be valued at 100 billion euros, he said people massively underestimate the potential of space, and that “I reckon the figure is much higher.”

Isar is one of several companies Europe is backing as it tries to rely less on foreign rockets. Ariane 6, Europe’s heavy-lift vehicle, has a tenth flight overall planned no earlier than November 23, according to Arianespace. In August, the European Space Agency signed European Launcher Challenge contracts, including 197.8 million euros for Isar, to expand Europe’s own launch options; companies in the program must reach orbit before 2028. German rival Rocket Factory Augsburg is also in the challenge.

A Canadian rocket company is making a similar pitch. Toronto-based Canada Rocket Company is developing a reusable medium-lift rocket and says Canada still has no sovereign launch capability, sending every satellite abroad to reach orbit.

The next Spectrum flight, now being finished, will take initial measurements of the first stage’s re-entry, Metzler said. Turning that into a reusable rocket that flies with anything like SpaceX’s cadence is a much longer job than a third launch window.