Static Fire Test Conducted with Spectrum Lauch Vehicle
Isar Aerospace Lights All Nine First-Stage Engines
On February 14, Isar Aerospace completed the pre-flight stage testing operations on its Spectrum launch vehicle with a 30-second integrated nine-engine static fire test of Stage 1. The successful completion of the test resulted in the qualification of the launch vehicle for flight. Stage 2 had been qualified in a static fire test last year.
“We develop, build, and test almost the entire launch vehicle in-house, including our ‘Aquila’ engines. The flight will be the first integrated test of tens of thousands of components."
Josef Fleischmann, Isar Aerospace
The first flight of Spectrum will take place from Andøya Spaceport in Norway as soon as possible following Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approval and licensing.
“We are almost ready for the test flight. All we need is the license”, said Daniel Metzler, Isar Aerospace CEO & Co-Founder. “By enabling space access from mainland Europe, we provide a critical resource for ensuring sovereignty and resilience. Regarding the first test flight he adds: “I am extremely proud of our international team from over 50 nations. Reaching this milestone is a huge success in itself. And while Spectrum is ready for its first test flight, launch vehicles for flights two and three are already in production.”
The initial test flight will mark the first launch of an orbital launch vehicle from continental Europe. The team successfully completed all milestones of pre-flight preparations, including testing and accepting all in-house developed engines, the payload fairing, and static fire tests of both stages.
The company developed proprietary know-how through full in-house vertical integration, spanning design, production, and testing & launch operations. “Owning the entire value chain of ‘Spectrum’ gives us maximum flexibility and independence”, said Josef Fleischmann, Isar Aerospace CTO & Co-Founder. “We develop, build, and test almost the entire launch vehicle in-house, including our ‘Aquila’ engines. The flight will be the first integrated test of tens of thousands of components," Fleischmann said. “Regardless of how far we get, this first test flight will hopefully generate an enormous amount of data and experience which we can apply to future missions.”