German startup to attempt the first orbital launch from Western Europe

Isar, a pioneering European startup, is set to test its Spectrum rocket, integrating thousands of components for crucial data. Co-founder Josef Fleischmann emphasizes the significance of the first flight, noting it will inform future missions regardless of the outcome. Competing with established firms like Arianespace due to delays and failures in existing vehicles, Europe's appetite for new entrants in the launch sector is growing. Isar's success may be bolstered by funding opportunities from the European Space Agency's upcoming Launcher Challenge, enhancing its position in the competitive space landscape.

"The flight will be the first integrated test of tens of thousands of components," said Josef Fleischmann, Isar's co-founder and chief technical officer. "Regardless of how far we get, this first test flight will hopefully generate an enormous amount of data and experience which we can apply to future missions."

"Reaching this milestone is a huge success in itself," Meltzer said in a statement. "And while Spectrum is ready for its first test flight, launch vehicles for flights two and three are already in production."

Read at Ars Technica