German private rocket reached orbit for the first time
The Spectrum rocket from Bavarian startup Isar Aerospace successfully reached orbit for the first time. The launch took place yesterday evening from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway. This is the first time a private rocket from Europe has reached orbit, and also the first orbital rocket launch from continental Europe, writes Bild.
Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler called the launch a historic success.
“It’s hard to put into words. When you work on something for eight years, it’s incredible to see that hard work finally pays off,” he told Bild.
According to Metzler, the company reached orbit on its second attempt.
“For comparison: SpaceX needed four attempts, and we managed it on our second. Ultimately, this speaks volumes for the European engineering school,” he stated.
Metzler believes that Spectrum’s success demonstrates Germany’s and Europe’s ability to implement major technological projects independently.
“For almost ten years, everyone told me: this is impossible to do in Germany, this is impossible to do in Europe, we won't raise the money. But we just did it,” he said.