Mission Updates - Isar Aerospace

Andøya, 5 September 2026 – Today, Isar Aerospace became the first commercial space company from Europe to successfully deliver satellites into orbit, on what was only its second flight. Mission ‘Onward and Upward’ lifted off from Isar Aerospace’s dedicated launch complex at Andøya Space in Norway at 10:12 pm CEST, deploying payloads in orbit. “Today, Isar Aerospace opened space from Continental Europe. Launch continues to be the largest bottleneck for the global space industry and from today on, there is a true alternative for commercial and institutional customers”, said Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace. Isar Aerospace is working with the customers to confirm the satellite status.

Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace, said: “We achieved within a few years what had taken the European space industry decades before. Europe now has sovereign access to space.  We have entered into a new chapter for European spaceflight. I am incredibly proud of our team, that has made this success story from Europe possible. We will now focus on rapidly scaling launch vehicle production, deliver on our order pipeline, and meet surging global demand.”

Isar Aerospace’s qualification flight broke several records in European commercial spaceflight: The vehicle successfully transited MaxQ, completed MECO and stage separation, and then ignited second stage as planned. It crossed the Kármán line at an altitude of 100 kilometers and jettisoned the payload fairing before reaching orbital velocity. After completing circularization burn, spacecraft separation was completed successfully.

Following replacements and acceptance testing at component level, together with subsequent stage tests and a Wet Dress Rehearsal, Isar Aerospace has returned to the launch pad for Flight 2. The company is targeting NET 5 September to launch its qualification flight from the company’s dedicated launch complex at Andøya Space. 

The launch window opens at 8pm UTC; 10pm CEST, subject to weather, safety and range clearance.

Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace, said: “Access to space remains one of the biggest constraints for the space industry and national security architecture. We have built the infrastructure and capabilities to change that. As we prepare for our qualification flight, our goal remains clear: learn as much as we can, go as far as we can.” 

Isar Aerospace is standing down from today’s launch attempt. We are still detecting off nominal behavior in the vehicle's fluid systems, the teams are analyzing the new data to isolate the root cause.