Agreement underlines the growing global demand for private and flexible orbital launches
Munich, Germany / Bellevue, Wash. US 25 January 2023 – European launch service company Isar Aerospace, and U.S.-based Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, announced they have signed a multi-launch services agreement. Under the agreement, Spaceflight secured one dedicated launch in 2026 to a sun-synchronous orbit taking off from Andøya, Norway and an option to add an additional dedicated launch to occur in 2025.
“We’ve seen an increased demand for flexible and affordable launch options around the globe, but especially for our European-based customers,” says Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “We’re very much looking forward to working with Isar Aerospace to help us meet that growing need. They have been successful in securing launch infrastructure and have made significant technological developments over recent years, and we welcome them into our launch vehicle portfolio.”
Spaceflight has more than a decade of launch and in-space transportation services expertise, successfully delivering more than 450 spacecraft across 55 launches, including both rideshare and dedicated launches. The company provides a host of launch and mission management services, from security capacity to providing comprehensive integration and logistics services. In addition, the company executed the launch of five next-gen Sherpa® orbital transfer vehicles which successfully carried more than 50 customer payloads, including cubesats, microsats and hosted payloads, to their desired orbits.
The agreement underlines the trust and growing global interest in Isar Aerospace’s flexible launch service solutions as the company expands into the U.S. market. Spectrum, Isar Aerospace’s completely in-house developed two-stage launch vehicle, can deliver up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO) and up to 700 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The vehicle design and testing are progressing well, and the company is working towards the first test flight of Spectrum, which is planned for 2023. Since its founding in 2018, Isar Aerospace has raised private funding of more than $180 million and attracted both international commercial and institutional customers.
“We thank Spaceflight for the confidence it has placed in Isar Aerospace’s team and are excited to welcome Spaceflight customers on board Spectrum’s flights! Adding the first U.S.-based company to our international client roster, we clearly see the growing market need for flexible space access and international alternatives. Across the globe, a growing number of vital technologies are dependent on easy access to space and private launch services like Isar Aerospace offer the solution,” says Stella Guillen, chief commercial officer at Isar Aerospace.
Private commercial launch services stemming from Europe not only create a real alternative in the current international market environment but become an essential part of meeting the growing international demand in the future.
About Isar Aerospace
Isar Aerospace, based in Ottobrunn/Munich, develops and builds launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into Earth’s orbit. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technical University Munich. Since then, it has grown to more than 300 employees from more than 40 nations with many years of hands-on rocket know-how as well as experience within other high-tech industries. The company is privately financed by former SpaceX VP Bulent Altan as well as world-leading investors including Airbus Ventures, Apeiron, Earlybird, HV Capital, Lakestar, Lombard Odier, Porsche SE, UVC Partners, and Vsquared Ventures.
Find more information via: https://www.isaraerospace.com
About Spaceflight Inc.
As the premier global launch services provider, Spaceflight is revolutionizing the business of space transportation through its comprehensive suite of launch services and Sherpa® orbital transfer vehicles. The company provides unprecedented launch flexibility to ensure customers’ smallsats get to orbit exactly when and where they want through a combination of long-standing relationships with a diverse portfolio of launch partners, innovative satellite integration capabilities, including flight and ground support hardware, licensing and logistics management, and extensive mission management expertise. Based in Seattle, Spaceflight has successfully launched hundreds of satellites and is a part of the Mitsui & Co., Ltd. portfolio, operating as an independent, U.S.-based company.
For more information, visit http://www.spaceflight.com.