Spectrum is a two-stage orbital rocket built by Isar Aerospace in Germany. It is 28 metres tall, burns liquid oxygen and propane and is designed to carry up to 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) or 700 kg to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). On 5 September 2026 Spectrum reached orbit on its second flight from Andøya in Norway and released all customer payloads. Isar Aerospace offers dedicated, "lead" and rideshare flights; prices are not published, and launches are requested directly from the company.
This guide covers the vehicle, its flight record, the launch sites, the booking options and the customer contracts Isar Aerospace has announced. The Spectrum vehicle page on Carrier Space lets you compare it with other launchers.
Spectrum at a glance
- Manufacturer: Isar Aerospace SE, headquartered near Munich, Germany.
- Height and diameter: 28 m and 2 m.
- Stages and engines: two stages, nine Aquila engines on the first stage and one on the second stage, ten engines in total.
- Propellants: liquid oxygen and propane.
- Payload: up to 1,000 kg to LEO and 700 kg to SSO.
- Second stage: multi-ignition engine for flexible orbit insertion.
- Launch site: Isar Aerospace's dedicated launch complex at Andøya Spaceport, Norway.
- Flights: two, one partial flight in 2025 and one orbital success in 2026.
How Spectrum is built
Isar Aerospace designs and manufactures the vehicle in-house, including its turbopump-fed Aquila engines. The company says this gives it control over design changes and lets it respond quickly to customer requirements. Liquid oxygen and propane were chosen because, according to Isar Aerospace, they offer the highest density-specific impulse of all carbon-based fuels and burn cleanly.
The second-stage engine can be ignited several times. A circularisation burn before spacecraft separation was part of the second flight profile, which shows how this capability is used in practice. Our explainer on liquid and solid rocket engines gives background on propellant choices.
Flight record
Flight 1, "Going Full Spectrum", 30 March 2025. Spectrum lifted off from Andøya at 12:30 pm CEST. The flight was terminated at T+30 seconds and the vehicle fell into the sea in a controlled manner. Isar Aerospace said the test met its goals, validated the flight termination system and left the launch pad intact.
Flight 2, "Onward and Upward", 5 September 2026. Liftoff came at 10:12 pm CEST. The vehicle passed Max Q, completed stage separation, ignited its second stage, jettisoned the fairing, reached orbital velocity and completed a circularisation burn before spacecraft separation. The first stage made a controlled descent into a designated corridor in the Norwegian Sea. According to Isar Aerospace, this made it the first commercial company from Europe to deliver satellites into orbit.
The second flight carried five CubeSats from TU Berlin, the University of Maribor, EnduroSat, NTNU and the TU Wien Space Team, plus a technology demonstration from Dcubed. The payloads were selected through the German Space Agency at DLR's Microlauncher Competition, which is funded through ESA Boost!. On 9 September Isar Aerospace confirmed that all customer payloads had been released and that most satellites had established contact. Our news article on the first orbital flight has more detail.
Launch sites
- Andøya, Norway: Isar Aerospace operates an exclusive launch pad at Andøya Spaceport. The company gives launch inclinations of 87.4 to 108 degrees, which suits sun-synchronous and polar orbits.
- Spaceport Nova Scotia, Canada: in July 2026 Isar Aerospace signed a contract with Maritime Launch Services to build a dedicated Spectrum launch complex near Canso. Build-out is planned to begin in 2026, with first orbital launches targeted for 2028. The site is meant to cover mid- to high-inclination orbits.
- Kourou, French Guiana: in 2022 CNES selected Isar Aerospace to operate from the former Diamant site at the Guiana Space Centre, and the company signed a binding term sheet. Isar Aerospace notes that the site's latitude of 5°2' improves performance for equatorial and medium-inclined orbits.
For a comparison of European spaceports, see Kourou, Andøya, SaxaVord and Esrange compared.
Booking options: dedicated, lead and rideshare
Isar Aerospace offers three launch configurations on its booking page:
- Dedicated: you fly alone and determine the orbit and the time of launch.
- Lead: you set the destination and launch time while other payloads share the flight.
- Rideshare: regular flights with other customers to a predetermined orbit.
Each option is requested through a form on the Isar Aerospace website. The Spectrum Payload User Guide is also available on request. If you are new to rideshare, our guide on how to book a rideshare launch slot explains the typical steps from request to contract.
Customers and manifest
- SEOPS: one dedicated mission signed in 2025 and, on 15 September 2026, five more dedicated launches between 2028 and 2030 from Andøya and Nova Scotia. SEOPS uses the flights for its Waymaker rideshare programme. Isar Aerospace says this contract brings its 2028 manifest close to full.
- Astroscale: in March 2026 Astroscale's UK subsidiary booked the ELSA-M in-orbit demonstration, an end-of-life removal mission, from Andøya.
- D-Orbit: a 2022 agreement covers the launch of an ION Satellite Carrier as primary customer to SSO.
- ESA: on 27 August 2026 Isar Aerospace signed a European Launcher Challenge contract. ESA puts its value at 197.8 million euros, mainly funded by Germany with contributions from Austria and Norway.
Isar Aerospace says its manifest extends well through 2028 and that its new headquarters near Munich can produce up to 40 launch vehicles per year. Operators who need a launch in 2028 should therefore ask early about available slots.
Price
Isar Aerospace does not publish launch prices. The company refers to "competitive prices" and "pricing options" without giving figures. For general cost ranges by launch type, see our article on how much it costs to launch a satellite. To get comparable offers, you can describe your mission once in the Carrier Space request form and compare Spectrum with other launchers on the Isar Aerospace provider page.
Spectrum compared with RFA One
Spectrum and RFA One are the two German commercial launchers in the one-tonne class. Spectrum has two stages and has reached orbit; RFA One has three stages, including the Redshift transfer vehicle, and is preparing its first test flight from SaxaVord. Details are in our guide RFA One explained.
Frequently asked questions
Has Isar Aerospace Spectrum reached orbit?
Yes. On its second flight on 5 September 2026 Spectrum reached orbit from Andøya and released all customer payloads. The first flight on 30 March 2025 was terminated after about 30 seconds.
How much can Spectrum carry?
Up to 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit and 700 kg to sun-synchronous orbit, according to Isar Aerospace.
Is Spectrum reusable?
Isar Aerospace does not describe Spectrum as reusable. On the second flight the first stage made a controlled descent into a designated corridor in the Norwegian Sea.
What does a Spectrum launch cost?
Isar Aerospace does not publish prices. Quotes are given on request for dedicated, lead and rideshare missions.
Where does Spectrum launch from?
From Isar Aerospace's dedicated pad at Andøya Spaceport in Norway. A second complex at Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canada is targeted to support first orbital launches in 2028.
Related reading
- Small Launchers Compared: Electron, Spectrum, RFA One and Vega-C
- Rideshare or Dedicated Launch? How Small Satellites Get to Orbit
- SSO Rideshare Explained: Getting to Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Sources
- Isar Aerospace, Spectrum: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, Missions: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, Launch: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, "Isar Aerospace lifts off successfully during first test flight of orbital launch vehicle", 30 March 2025: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, "History for European spaceflight: Isar Aerospace reaches orbit and deploys payloads on second flight", 5 September 2026: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, Mission updates, 9 September 2026: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, Multiple Launch Service Agreement with SEOPS, 15 September 2026: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, contract with Maritime Launch Services, 7 July 2026: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, launch agreement with Astroscale, 16 March 2026: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, launch agreement with D-Orbit, 22 June 2022: isaraerospace.com
- Isar Aerospace, contract with ESA under the European Launcher Challenge, 27 August 2026: isaraerospace.com
- ESA, "First contracts kick off European Launcher Challenge", 27 August 2026: esa.int
Cover image: Phytoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea north of Norway, seen by the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite on 14 August 2011. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, public domain.