And\u00f8ya, Norway, 13 March 2026 \u2013 As part of German Chancellor Merz\u2019 first official visit to Norway, a high-ranking political delegation from Norway and Germany today visited the launch site of Isar Aerospace at And\u00f8ya Space. The visit by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re, Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth, and Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik, alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, and Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee B\u00e4r, underscores the strategic importance of Isar Aerospace for Europe\u2019s sovereign space capabilities and the continent\u2019s security and industrial resilience.<\/p>\n
Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace, said: \u201cThere is now clear recognition that space is essential for our defence and that true sovereignty begins on the launch pad. The challenge now is to turn this understanding into decisive action, with targeted investments and strong partnerships to deliver results. Today\u2019s visit by government delegations from Norway and Germany highlights that momentum must be maintained to secure Europe\u2019s sovereignty in space \u2013 by building it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The delegation toured Isar Aerospace\u2019s launch pad at And\u00f8ya Space, which serves as the primary launch site for the company\u2019s \u2018Spectrum\u2019 launch vehicle. Designed, built, and operated by Isar Aerospace, the launch site reflects the company\u2019s commitment to vertical integration. This approach encompasses not only the design, manufacturing, and testing of its launch vehicles, but also the development and operation of all test and launch facilities.<\/p>\n
The visit highlights the deepening partnership between the two nations and Europe\u2019s renewed space ambitions. Germany\u2019s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius just recently announced a \u20ac35\u202fbillion defence budget dedicated to building sovereign space capabilities for strengthening Germany\u2019s security. Norway, which has invested significantly in its own space capabilities, has long understood the importance of space, making And\u00f8ya Space Continental Europe\u2019s first orbital launch site.<\/p>\n
Isar Aerospace is currently finalizing preparations for its qualification flight. The launch window for the ‘Onward and Upward’ mission is scheduled to open NET March 19. This mission will be a decisive step in proving the reliability of the \u2018Spectrum\u2019 launch vehicle and cementing the German-Norwegian gateway to space for Europe, NATO and its allies.<\/p>\n
The European space company Isar Aerospace offers launch services for transporting small and medium-sized satellites and satellite constellations into Earth orbit. The launch vehicles used to transport these satellites are developed, manufactured, and tested almost entirely in-house. Headquartered near Munich, Germany, Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and has grown to over 400 employees from more than 50 nations, working across 5 international locations. Private funding from international investors provides strong backing for the company\u2019s pioneering approach to scale and industrialize launch vehicle production through vertical integration. More information:\u202fwww.isaraerospace.com<\/a><\/p>\n Press contact Isar Aerospace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And\u00f8ya, Norway, 13 March 2026 \u2013 As part of German Chancellor Merz\u2019 first official visit to Norway, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-473581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}