Isar Aerospace secures its next major contract: launch service provider Seops books five more missions on the Spectrum launch vehicle. The launches are planned between 2028 and 2030. According to the company, this leaves the Munich-area space startup’s flight schedule for 2028 nearly fully booked.
The five missions are scheduled to lift off from the launch complex at Andøya Space in Norway and Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canada. This is already the second contract for Isar Aerospace and Seops: together with a launch agreed upon last year, the collaboration now encompasses six missions. The companies have not disclosed the order value.
First into space, then into the order book
Isar Aerospace attributes the increased demand to the successful second flight of its Spectrum rocket. During the “Onward and Upward” mission, all payloads on board were reportedly delivered into Earth orbit.
Stella Guillen, Chief Commercial Officer of Isar Aerospace, says:
“Our successful second flight and the deployment of all payloads on board the ‘Onward and Upward’ mission into Earth orbit have strengthened demand for our Spectrum launch vehicle. Signing a second contract with Seops is a strong vote of confidence in what we are building.”
The new contract provides long-term planning certainty: the agreed missions extend through 2030. At the same time, the question of how to meet the growing demand with higher launch capacities is coming to the fore for the company.
Seops reserves entire rocket launches
The five additional flights will become part of Seops’ “Waymaker” program. For this, the company secures launch capacities early on across various providers and different launch vehicles. In these so-called rideshare missions, multiple payloads share a single flight. Seops books entire launches for this purpose and handles mission planning, payload integration, and execution.
According to Seops, demand for such rideshare capacities is growing faster than the available supply. The long-term bookings are intended to give satellite operators more choice and planning security.
Evan Hoyt, President of Seops, emphasizes:
“Isar Aerospace has accomplished what very few companies manage to do: building a new launch vehicle and successfully reaching Earth orbit on just its second flight. Collaborating on six missions using Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle reflects our confidence in the team and adds a high-performing European component to Waymaker.”
Now capacity has to grow along with it
Isar Aerospace now intends to expand production, launch operations, and its international network of launch sites. The goal is to offer more frequent and flexible flights for customers worldwide.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered near Munich, the company reports that it employs more than 400 people across five international locations. Isar Aerospace develops, manufactures, and tests its rockets almost entirely in-house. They are designed to transport small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into space.
