17-03-2025
German aerospace start-up given go ahead for rocket launch in Norway
German start-up Isar Aerospace will soon be able to launch its first test rocket into space.
The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority has granted authorization for the flight from Andøya Spaceport, the company based in Ottobrunn near Munich said in a statement on Monday. The test launch can take place from Thursday onwards.
The launch would not only be a first for Isar Aerospace, but also the maiden space flight for an orbital launch vehicle in continental Europe.
Isar Aerospace develops launch vehicles for transporting satellites into orbit but the test will not include any customer payloads.
"We are approaching the most important moment of our journey so far," Daniel Metzler, chief executive and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, said in a statement.
The rocket start-up recently secured additional funding in a new financing round. Among the investors is the NATO Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund supported by 24 NATO states.
Last year, even India launched more rockets than Europe. One reason for this is years of delay in the development of the European Space Agency-backed Ariane 6 launcher.
Isar Aerospace's vision for the future is to build up to 40 launchers per year.
