German startup Isar Aerospace cancels maiden voyage of orbital rocket

A private European aerospace company scrubbed its attempt on Monday to launch the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle from Norway.

Unfavorable winds meant that the Spectrum rocket couldn’t be launched from the island of Andøya in northern Norway, Munich-based Isar Aerospace said.

The launch is subject to various factors, including weather and safety. The company said it could also conduct the test flight later in the week. Another date hasn’t yet been set.

The 28-meter (91-foot) Spectrum is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for small and medium-size satellites.

The company has largely ruled out the possibility of the rocket reaching orbit on its first complete flight, saying that it would consider a 30-second flight a success. Isar Aerospace aims to collect as much data and experience as possible on the first integrated test of all the systems on its in-house-developed launch vehicle.

The startup, which says it has raised more than 400 million euros ($435 million) in capital, hopes to build up to 40 launch vehicles per year in the future at a plant outside of Munich. The launch vehicles are all to be used for putting satellites into orbit.

Isar Aerospace is separate from the European Space Agency, or ESA, which is funded by its 23 member states.

ESA has been launching rockets and satellites into orbit for years, but mainly from French Guiana—an overseas department of France in South America—and from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

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