Isar signs multi-launch order with Spaceflight
January 30, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Munich-based Isar Aerospace has agreed with US-based Spaceflight Industries for a series of satellite launches.
Under the agreement, Spaceflight secured one dedicated launch in 2026 to a sun-synchronous orbit taking off from Andøya, Norway and an option to add an additional dedicated launch to occur in 2025.
A statement from both companies read: “This agreement underlines the trust and growing global interest in Isar Aerospace’s flexible launch service solutions as the company expands into the US market. Meanwhile, Spaceflight has more than a decade of launch and in-space transportation services expertise, successfully delivering more than 450 spacecraft across 55 launches, including both rideshare and dedicated launches.”
“We’ve seen an increased demand for flexible and affordable launch options around the globe, but especially for our European-based customers,” commented Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “We’re very much looking forward to working with Isar Aerospace to help us meet that growing need. They have been successful in securing launch infrastructure and have made significant technological developments over recent years, and we welcome them into our launch vehicle portfolio.”
Spaceflight provides a host of launch and mission management services, from security capacity to providing comprehensive integration and logistics services. In addition, the company executed the launch of five next-gen Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles which successfully carried more than 50 customer payloads, including cubesats, microsats and hosted payloads, to their desired orbits.
Since its founding in 2018, Isar Aerospace has raised private funding of more than $180 million and attracted both international commercial and institutional customers. The company is privately financed by former SpaceX VP Bulent Altan as well as world-leading investors including Airbus Ventures, Apeiron, Earlybird, HV Capital, Lakestar, Lombard Odier, Porsche SE, UVC Partners, and Vsquared Ventures.