Historic moment for European space travel: this is how the test flight of Germany’s first commercial rocket went!

Space history was written at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon: Germany’s first orbital rocket, the “Spectrum” from the Bavarian company Isar Aerospace, took off on its test flight. In Andøya, Norway, it first rose vertically into the sky and flew over the snow-covered landscapes of northern Norway. The launch was promising, but after just 30 seconds the rocket began to sway, tipped upside down and finally crashed into the sea.

Despite the crash, Daniel Metzler, head of the Munich-based rocket start-up Isar Aerospace, was delighted with the result: “Our first test flight met all our expectations and was a great success,” he said after the launch. “We may not have reached Earth orbit, but we learned an enormous amount.” The team had collected valuable data that will be crucial for the next flight. His positive reaction is no coincidence: this is the first time in European space history that a German commercial rocket has lifted off from a European launch site. His words are therefore understandable: “This day marks a milestone for our competitiveness in space travel.”

The company Otrag was already working on a rocket in the 1970s, but it never reached orbit. Isar Aerospace is now the first of three German rocket start-ups that want to give Germany access to space. It is high time that Europe joined in, because for a long time it was only the USA that dominated rocket launches, satellite communication and reconnaissance from space.

“Spectrum” is coming back – and better than ever!

The results of the first test flight of Isar Aerospace’s “Spectrum” are now being thoroughly analyzed and evaluated in order to further optimize the next flight with “Spectrum No. 2”. Similar to its role model SpaceX, Isar Aerospace follows the approach of learning from mistakes and constantly improving. Progress can only be made through practical experiments – in this sense, the crash was a necessary step. “Spectrum 2” and “Spectrum 3” are already in production, as the company has undergone rapid development over seven years and established series production. The design of the rockets is based on state-of-the-art 3D printing technology. We can therefore look forward to seeing what significant milestones the German company has in store for space history next.