The inaugural continental spaceport in Europe has been officially unveiled, heralding a significant advancement for Isar Aerospace in Germany as it diligently readies for its inaugural launch scheduled for the upcoming year. The Andøya Spaceport, situated on the remote Andøya Island in northwestern Norway, was formally inaugurated this week by Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon. As the spaceport reaches full development, it will house multiple launch facilities. Isar Aerospace, however, has exclusive rights to the initial launch pad, where it plans to conduct testing of its two-stage Spectrum rocket.
Should the test runs prove to be successful, the company intends to initiate commercial operations at the spaceport to meet the burgeoning demand for transporting small- and medium-sized satellites into space. Isar envisions launching as many as 15 missions annually from Andøya at an estimated cost of €10-12 million per flight.
Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, stated, “over the last five years, we have constructed a rocket that will contribute to addressing the most pressing challenge facing the European space sector – the need for sovereign and competitive access to space.”
At present, Europe confronts a void in autonomous access to satellite deployment, a consequence of the retirement of Ariane 5 earlier this year and setbacks in the launch of its successor, Ariane 6. In light of the absence of local alternatives, the European Space Agency (ESA) recently entered into an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for the delivery of four navigation and communication satellites into orbit next year. While the ESA does not intend to depend on SpaceX for subsequent missions, it may have no choice unless Europe’s emerging space startups attain commercial viability in the near future. Currently, two German startups, Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg, appear to be the most promising contenders.
Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Technical University Munich, Isar Aerospace has secured €310 million in funding to date, making it the most well-funded private space company in Europe. Rocket Factory Augsburg, with only a fraction of its competitor’s funding, has gained exclusive rights to the sole other potential launch site in Europe, the SaxaVord Spaceport located in Scotland’s Shetland Islands. Both startups initially aimed for a launch this year but encountered multiple delays, prompting them to shift their focus to 2024.
SaxaVord, currently under construction, aspires to facilitate launches from the following year. However, unlike Andøya, it has not yet obtained its spaceport license. As the new space race in Europe intensifies, the pivotal question remains: Will Isar Aerospace from the Andøya Spaceport or Rocket Factory Augsburg from the SaxaVord Spaceport reach orbit first?
