Norway makes history with Europe’s first orbital rocket launch

A German start-up hopes to conduct Monday a test flight of its Spectrum rocket from Norway's Andoya Spaceport, a first for Europe which is keen to maintain its access to space.

Scheduled to take place sometime between 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm (1130 and 1430 GMT), the launch from the Arctic space center will be the first flight of an orbital launch vehicle from the European continent, excluding Russia.

Measuring 28 meters (92 feet) high and two meters in diameter, with a payload capacity of one tonne, the Spectrum will not carry any cargo on this launch and is not expected to reach orbit.

"Every second we fly is good, because we collect data and experience. Thirty seconds would already be a great success," explained Daniel Metzler, co-founder and chief executive of Isar Aerospace that built the rocket.

"We do not expect to reach orbit with this test. In fact, no company has yet managed to put its first orbital launch vehicle into orbit," he said.

US billionaire Elon Musk's "SpaceX needed four attempts. We want to be faster," he added in an email to AFP.

Last year's Draghi report, which laid out recommendations on how Europe can boost its economic growth, recognized space as a key sector.

Europe has had no access to Russian space stations and launchers since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Its space industry has also seen delays in the development of the Ariane 6 rocket and the suspension of the European Vega-C satellite launcher after an accident.

It wasn't until March 6, when the first commercial flight of an Ariane 6 rocket took off from Kourou in French Guyana, that Europe was able to regain its own space independence after several months without its own access to space.

Space race

Less expensive small launchers like the Spectrum, usually developed by private actors, are a welcome complement to put miniature satellites -- often used for Earth observation or internet coverage -- into orbit.

"The rise of these new actors and new European launch services is part of a common objective: to guarantee independent and sovereign access to space. Their role is expected to strengthen in the coming years," Toni Tolker-Nielsen, director of Space Transportation at the European Space Agency (ESA), told AFP.

The European market is fighting to catch up with US groups such as Musk's SpaceX and Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos.

In addition to Isar Aerospace, Europe is home to Germany's HyImpulse and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), French groups Latitude and MaiaSpace and Spain's PLD Space, all racing to establish themselves as key players in the sector.

At the same time, a number of spaceport projects are taking shape across Europe, from the Portuguese Azores to the British Shetland Islands, Norway's Andoya and Esrange in neighboring Sweden, many of them hoping to become the first to launch.

In Britain, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit shut down operations after a failed attempt to launch the first rocket into orbit on a Boeing 747 that took off from a spaceport in Cornwall.

Isar Aerospace's launch on Monday will be the first vertical launch of an orbital vehicle on the European continent, where launches have until now involved suborbital rockets.

"Whatever the outcome, the launch of Spectrum will mark an important milestone, as it is the first launch of a European launcher under entirely private responsibility. We fully support this momentum," Tolker-Nielsen said.

Founded in 2018, the Munich start-up boasts that it developed its two-stage launcher almost entirely in-house.

The company has already signed a contract with the Norwegian space agency to put two maritime surveillance satellites into orbit by 2028.

The Andoya Spaceport, which presents itself as "the first operational spaceport in continental Europe", meanwhile says its location in the Arctic is ideal for launching polar and so-called sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) satellites.