Credit: Isar Aerospace / Wingmen Media / Robin Brillert
German launch services provider Isar Aerospace is preparing for the second flight of its two-stage Spectrum rocket, with a Notice to Mariners (NOTMAR) indicating launch opportunities from 21 to 23 January.
Isar Aerospace launched its first Spectrum rocket in March 2025 from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway, but it failed less than a minute into flight. Less than nine months after that first flight, in December 2025, the company announced that it had successfully completed hot fire tests of both stages of the rocket for its second flight, marking the final hurdle before a launch attempt.
On 12 January, Andøya Space published a temporary road closure notice for the flight from the Norwegian launch facility from 12 to 23 January. On 13 January, Andøya Space published a NOTMAR revealing that 15-minute launch windows would be available from 20 to 23 January between 21:05 and 21:20 CET. On 16 January, the company revealed that the flight, which it has dubbed Onward and Upward, would occur no earlier than 21 January.
The 16 January release confirmed that the flight would be the first Spectrum flight to carry payloads as part of the company’s involvement with the DLR Microlauncher Challenge.
The German aerospace agency DLR launched the challenge in May 2020 to foster the development of sovereign launch capabilities, with funding provided through ESA’s Boost! programme. In May 2021, Isar Aerospace was announced as one of two second-round winners, securing €11 million in funding. The funding did, however, come with the understanding that the company would launch two sets of payloads with a combined mass of no more than 150 kilograms each over its first two flights. The company ultimately opted not to carry the first set of payloads aboard the inaugural flight of Spectrum.
In December 2021, Isar Aerospace announced that seven payloads had been selected to fly aboard Spectrum’s debut flight. Given the time that has elapsed since their selection, it is unsurprising that the payload manifest has since been adjusted. Payloads from the Technical University Berlin, University of Maribor, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology remain, while payloads from the DLR Responsive Space Competence Center and the ZfT – Center for Telematics are no longer listed. The updated manifest also includes new payloads from EnduroSat, the TU Wien Space Team, and Dcubed.
Isar Aerospace has also revealed that it is already working on Spectrum rockets for flights three through seven, indicating that the company aims to ramp up its launch cadence rapidly.
Update: This article was update on 16 January to include the details from the 16 January Isar Aerospace press release.
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