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(LOG IN)         (https://www.space.com/space-exploration) Space Exploration     (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft) Launches & Spacecraft     Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil (https://www.space.com/news) News  By (https://www.space.com/author/mike-wall) Mike Wall   Last updated 5 September 2026      "This is right now making history — making history for Spectrum, making history for Isar, making history for Europe."  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. (https://www.space.com/41418-about-us.html#section-affiliate-advertising-disclosure) Here’s how it works .           Click for next article     (a white rocket launches into a dark night sky from a seaside pad with mountains in the background)  Isar Aerospace's second Spectrum rocket launches from Andoya Space Center in Norway on Sept. 5, 2026. (Image credit: Isar Aerospace/NASASpaceflight)         Copy link   (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket)    Facebook   (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Private+German+rocket+makes+history%2C+reaches+orbit+from+European+soil&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket)    X   (whatsapp://send?text=Private+German+rocket+makes+history%2C+reaches+orbit+from+European+soil+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket?fwa)        Whatsapp   (https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket&title=Private+German+rocket+makes+history%2C+reaches+orbit+from+European+soil)           Reddit   (https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket&media=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net%2FK5YFiwFEXDGQeTecwrNxcY.jpg)    Pinterest   (https://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?title=Private+German+rocket+makes+history%2C+reaches+orbit+from+European+soil&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fspace-exploration%2Flaunches-spacecraft%2Fisar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket)    Flipboard   (mailto:?subject=I%20found%20this%20webpage&body=Hi,%20I%20found%20this%20webpage%20and%20thought%20you%20might%20like%20it%20https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/isar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket)    Email     Share this article   (isar-aerospace-second-launch-norway-andoya-spaceport-spectrum-rocket.html#viafoura-comments)   0  Join the conversation    (https://google.com/preferences/source?q=space.com)      Follow us  Add us as a preferred source on Google     Newsletter  Subscribe to our newsletter     No rocket had ever reached orbit from Western European soil — until today.  The German company Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from (https://www.space.com/europe-spaceport-continental-Norway-operational) Andøya Space Center  in northern Norway today (Sept. 5) at 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT; 10:12 p.m. local time in Norway). A little over seven minutes later, it etched its name into the record books, settling into an elliptical path around our planet. "This is right now making history — making history for Spectrum, making history for Isar, making history for Europe,” Nikolaos Perakis, Spectrum chief engineer at Isar, said during today's launch webcast, which the company produced in collaboration with (https://www.youtube.com/@NASASpaceflight) NASASpaceflight  . "I'm incredibly proud of this massive achievement."  (view from a rocket stage looking down at a cloudy earth)     The view from the second stage of Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket after it reached orbit on Sept. 5, 2026.  (Image credit: Isar Aerospace/NASASpaceflight)   This was Spectrum's second bite at the apple: The two-stage, 95-foot-tall (28-meter-tall) (https://www.space.com/29295-rocket-history.html) rocket  first flew in March 2025, lifting off from Andøya on a flight Isar called "Going Full Spectrum." But, as often happens on debut missions, Spectrum suffered an anomaly that day; it came (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/1st-ever-orbital-rocket-launch-from-european-soil-falls-to-earth-and-explodes-seconds-into-flight) crashing back to Earth  less than a minute after launch.    "A comprehensive investigation was completed within two months of the launch," Isar wrote in a (https://isaraerospace.com/mission-updates-overview) September 2025 update  . "The findings identified an unintended opening of the vent valve and a loss of attitude control at the start of the roll maneuver as the initiating events that led to the in-flight failure." You may like  (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/skyroot-aerospace-india-first-private-orbital-launch-vikram-1)  (Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket launches on its debut mission on July 18, 2026.)  'The dawn of a new space era': Vikram-1, India's 1st private orbital rocket, aces debut launch   (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/rocket-issue-delays-1st-orbital-rocket-launch-from-the-uk)  (a rocket stands upright on a launch pad on a rocky outcrop beside the sea)  Rocket issue delays 1st orbital rocket launch from the UK   (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/launching-from-2-continents-germanys-isar-aerospace-leases-canadian-pad-for-usd150-million)  (An Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket stands at Andoya Spaceport in Norway.)  Launching from 2 continents: Germany's Isar Aerospace leases Canadian pad for $150 million     The company took the lessons learned that day and geared up for flight number two, "Onward and Upward," which was originally supposed to launch in January. An issue with a pressurization valve nixed that plan, however, pushing the flight to March. Bad weather and an intruding boat scuttled multiple attempts that month, and an April 9 try was scrubbed due to a leak in a composite overwrapped pressure vessel. (Space)   Signup to our newsletter  (https://google.com/preferences/source?q=space.com)      Follow us on Google    Isar next tried to fly on June 15 but stood down after "detecting off-nominal behavior in the vehicle's fluid systems," according to a company (https://x.com/isaraerospace/status/2066598242020700345) update that day on X  . But the company got that issue under control, rolling Spectrum back to the pad for today's launch. "We had some delays, obviously," Petrakis said during the webcast. "We had some setbacks, but we came back stronger from them. And it validates this tremendous amount of engineering across all the teams, and that's what brings us into orbit."    Spectrum didn't carry viable payloads on its debut flight, but it did today: Five (https://www.space.com/34324-cubesats.html) cubesats  and one non-deployable scientific experiment went up on "Onward and Upward." What to read next  (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/ariane-6-rocket-launch-mtg-i2-weather-satellite)  (An Ariane 6 rocket launches the MTG-I2 weather satellite from Kourou, French Guiana on Aug. 27, 2026.)  Powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches European weather satellite to orbit (video)   (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/ariane-6-rocket-record-breaking-launch-amazon-leo-le-03)  (An Ariane 6 rocket launches 34 Amazon Leo satellites to orbit from French Guiana on June 17, 2026.)  European rocket launches record-breaking mission with Amazon internet satellites (video)   (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/getting-vikram-1-to-orbit-inside-skyroot-aerospaces-coming-bid-to-make-spaceflight-history)  (Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket is seen inside the company's Infinity Campus in Hyderabad, India.)  Getting Vikram-1 to orbit: Inside Skyroot Aerospace's coming bid to make spaceflight history     Spectrum's upper stage needs to deploy those payloads before Isar can declare full mission success. And deployment won't occur until after the rocket performs a circularization burn to get out of its initial elliptical orbit, which was estimated to feature a closest approach to Earth of 112 miles (180 kilometers) and a farthest-away point of 311 miles (500 km). Whether or not Spectrum checks those boxes, today was a big day for Isar, which is thinking big with Spectrum. The company sees the rocket — which can haul about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of payload to (https://www.space.com/low-earth-orbit) low Earth orbit  — becoming a workhorse launcher of small to medium-size satellites down the road, and its infrastructure supports that vision. Isar says its manufacturing facility near Munich can churn out more than 30 of the rockets per year. “Flight 2 is a big, big milestone, big success," Petrakis said. "But this is just the beginning. So I'm really looking forward to the next steps." Spectrum is the first rocket to reach orbit from Western Europe, but others have long flown from a different part of the continent — the Russian part. For example, Plesetsk Cosmodrome has hosted orbital launches for about six decades now. (About 25% of Russia lies in Europe, with the rest classified as part of Asia.) Editor's note:  This story was updated at 4:45 p.m. ET with news of successful launch and orbital insertion.            View More   You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout      (Mike Wall)       (https://www.space.com/author/mike-wall) Mike Wall   Social Links Navigation  (https://twitter.com/michaeldwall)         (mailto:mwall@space.com)       Spaceflight and Tech Editor   Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for (https://www.space.com) Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.         Read more (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/skyroot-aerospace-india-first-private-orbital-launch-vikram-1) ('The dawn of a new space era': Vikram-1, India's 1st private orbital rocket, aces debut launch)  (Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket launches on its debut mission on July 18, 2026.)   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