Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor and economy minister, said Europe’s “unhindered access to space is strategically crucial.”
“With the first launch of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, Germany has impressively demonstrated that it is an important location for the development of innovative space technologies,” Habeck wrote on LinkedIn. “The first flight provided important data and experience for the rocket’s next flight… Isar Aerospace can and will make a decisive contribution to securing Europe’s independent access to space!”
The Spectrum rocket is the largest launch vehicle primarily built in Germany, supplanting the V-2 missile from World War II.
In the last few months, European government officials have emphasized their desire to break free of relying on other countries for defense and space technology. Europe was a longtime customer for Russia’s Soyuz rocket, but the partnership ended in 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Delays in the debut of the Ariane 6 rocket and failures with the smaller Vega rocket forced European governments to sign contracts with SpaceX to launch several scientific and security-related satellites.
Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace, speaks at an event in Munich on January 12, 2024.
Credit:
Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images
Metzler, Isar’s chief executive, was asked last year what he would consider a successful inaugural flight of Spectrum.
“For me, the first flight will be a success if we don’t blow up the launch site,” he said at the Handelsblatt innovation conference. “That would probably be the thing that would set us back the most in terms of technology and time.”
This tempering of expectations sounds remarkably similar to statements made by Elon Musk about SpaceX’s first flight of the Starship rocket in 2023.
By this measure, Isar officials can be content with Sunday’s result. The company is modeling its test strategy on SpaceX’s iterative development cycle, where engineers test early, make fixes, and fly again. This is in stark contrast to the way Europe has traditionally developed rockets. The alternative to Isar’s approach could be to “spend 15 years researching, doing simulations, and then getting it right the first time,” Metzler said.
With the first launch of Spectrum, Isar has tested the rocket. Now, it’s time to make fixes and fly again. That, Isar’s leaders argue, will be the real measure of success.
“We’re super happy,” Metzler said in a press call after Sunday’s flight. “It’s a time for people to be proud of, and for Europe, frankly, also to be proud of.”