Spectrum mission 'Onwards and upwards' liftoff

German company Isar Aerospace successfully reached orbit with their Spectrum launcher, lifting off from Andøya Spaceport in Norway on 5 September 2026, the first launch to orbit from continental Europe. 

Spectrum is 28 m tall, 2 m in diameter and, with its ten engines, it is targeting to launch payloads of up to 1000 kg to low Earth orbit.

For this second Spectrum launch Isar Aerospace included six commercial and educational CubeSats and an experiment that aims to prove new technologies in orbit as well as providing educational experiences for students in Europe. The mission ‘Onward and Upward’ is supported by ESA’s Boost! program. Isar Aerospace also won the first Microlauncher Competition awarded by the German Space Agency at DLR, which resulted in the selection of the payloads on this flight.

Initially supported by ESA’s Business Incubation Centre, Isar Aerospace has received several rounds of co-funding as part of the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme that helps commercial initiatives offering space transportation services. Under Boost! contract, ESA supported the development of the Spectrum launch service, including this second Spectrum flight .

In 2025 Isar Aerospace was one of the launch service operators selected for the European Launcher Challenge, and their contract was signed recently. As a first important milestone, the European Launcher Challenge requires launch service providers to achieve an orbital launch no later than 2027. This flight has demonstrated the Spectrum launch system successfully, making Isar Aerospace the first provider to reach this milestone for the European Launcher Challenge.