Isar Aerospace reaches orbit from Norway, the first European company to put satellites up on its own rocket
A second flight, five small satellites, and a milestone European launch companies have chased for years.
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket lifted off from Andøya Space in Norway at 10:12 pm CEST on Saturday, passed 100 kilometers, and reached orbital velocity on the vehicle's second flight. The qualification mission, called Onward and Upward, carried five CubeSats and one experiment selected through the German Space Agency's Microlauncher Competition. The company said it had become the first commercial space company from Europe to deliver satellites into orbit, and that Spectrum vehicles three through seven are already in production. The European Space Agency's director of space transportation, Géraldine Naja, called it the first time a European company reached orbit with its own launch vehicle.
Scripture for Reflection
“For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
The reach of our machines is small next to the sky they cross, and we can let news like this lift our eyes.