Isar Aerospace tries again launching Spectrum rocket (delayed)

Note: Launch has been postponed again. Stand by for updates.

After a scrubbed launch on 25 March, Isar Aerospace is preparing another attempt to launch its new Spectrum rocket from Andøya Island in Norway.

The German rocket company is now targeting 9 April at the earliest for the launch of Mission “Onward and Upward”within the available launch window, which opens at 20:00 UTC (22:00 CEST). The final date remains subject to weather, safety, and range infrastructure conditions.

The second flight and qualification mission of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle will be broadcast live on YouTube.

The previous launch attempt in March was initially delayed due to an unauthorized vessel entering the designated danger zone at sea. Once the range was cleared, the vehicle experienced an increase in engine fuel temperature that could not be resolved within the shortened countdown, forcing the mission to be aborted.

Hopefully, this time the launch will proceed as planned and successfully deploy all five CubeSats and one experiment.

This mission is supported by ESA’s Boost! Programme and is highly important for advancing European launch capabilities from European soil.

New European launch vehicles and a launch site in the Nordic country offer many unique opportunities for the Finnish space ecosystem as well.