SpaceX and Rocket Lab Have a New Space Rival -- in Norway

A new “new-space” player is emerging from Europe with potential impact most felt by Rocket Lab. The article notes that SpaceX is still the global leader and that Rocket Lab has reached 94 successful launches, though fewer than SpaceX’s annual pace. The newcomer is Isar Aerospace, a German company launching from the Andøya launch complex in Norway. On Sept. 5, Isar conducted the second test flight of its Spectrum rocket, which reached orbital velocity and deployed five European cubesats into a stable circular orbit before crashing into the sea as planned. Spectrum’s low Earth orbit payload is about 1 ton—smaller than Falcon 9’s 22.8 tons or Rocket Lab’s Neutron plan—yet roughly three times Rocket Lab’s Electron, positioning it in small-satellite launch competition.