The German company Isar Aerospace has launched its rocket from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway, on 5 September 2026 at 20:12 UTC, making it the first space-rocket launch from Continental Europe to reach orbit.
The mission is part of Europe’s push for an independent commercial launch industry and aims to prove that a privately built small launcher can put satellites into orbit from European soil, rather than relying on French Guiana or foreign providers such as SpaceX.
Spectrum, a 28-metre, two-stage vehicle built near Munich, lifted off on its second flight, named “Onward and Upward.” The first attempt, in March 2025 from the same Arctic site, failed about 30 seconds after liftoff when the rocket lost control and fell into the sea. This time the sequence held: first-stage burn, stage separation, second-stage ignition, and a circularisation manoeuvre that placed the upper stage in a sun-synchronous orbit. Five CubeSats and one attached experiment were then deployed, including university payloads from Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Norway under the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme.
Europe has launched satellites for decades from Kourou in French Guiana, and Russia has flown from Plesetsk. This is the first successful orbital launch from Continental Europe itself.
Spectrum is a privately developed German rocket. Isar Aerospace, founded in 2018, designed Spectrum to carry up to about 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The company presents the flight as a step towards routine small-satellite launches and towards a more diverse European launcher market.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher called it historic and the first time a European “launcher challenger” had reached orbit. It is still only a second flight.
Feature photo by ESA.
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