Isar Aerospace sets date for first launch after receiving license

WASHINGTON — Isar Aerospace is ready to perform its first orbital launch attempt as soon as March 20 after receiving a license from Norwegian regulators.

Isar announced March 17 that the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a launch operator license to the company for its Spectrum rocket, launching from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway.

The launch, called “Going Full Spectrum” by the company, is a test flight of Spectrum with no customer payloads on board. “Our goal is to test each and every component and system of the launch vehicle,” Alexandre Dalloneau, vice president of mission and launch operations at Isar Aerospace, said in a statement about the upcoming launch.

Isar Aerospace did not announce a specific time for the launch, noting the timing would depend on weather as well as range and vehicle readiness. Andøya Space, which operates the spaceport, noted that maritime notices are in effect daily from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. local time for the launch. The launch period covered by the permit runs through the end of the month.

Isar said in February it had completed testing of the Spectrum ahead of the launch, including static-fire tests of both the first and second stages of the vehicle. The company said the license was the final milestone before a launch attempt.

In its own statement, CAA Norway said the launch permit to Isar Aerospace, the first issued by the agency, followed procedures laid out in the Norwegian Space Act and used the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 450 launch licensing regulations as a standard. The permit, the agency added, is valid only for the inaugural launch of Spectrum. CAA Norway licensed the spaceport in August 2024.

The launch will not only be the first flight by Isar Aerospace but will also be the first vertical orbital launch attempt from Europe, excluding Russia. Virgin Orbit performed an air launch from Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom in January 2023, deploying its LauncherOne rocket from a Boeing 747 aircraft, but a problem with the rocket’s second stage prevented it from reaching orbit.

The launch attempt will be a major milestone for both the company and the European space industry as it seeks to expand its launch capabilities. “In today’s geopolitical climate, our first test flight is about much more than a rocket launch: Space is one of the most critical platforms for our security, resilience and technological advancement,” Daniel Metzler, chief executive and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, said in a statement. “In the next days, Isar Aerospace will lay the foundations to regain much needed independent and competitive access to space from Europe.”