Isar Aerospace scrubs Spectrum rocket launch for the fourth time, citing fluid system malfunction
The Bavarian startup aborted the second test flight of its Spectrum rocket minutes before liftoff from Andøya, Norway, after a malfunction in the fuel system’s fluid controls.
The Spectrum rocket was supposed to lift off at 22:00 on Monday evening from the Andøya spaceport north of the Arctic Circle, carrying five small satellites and an experiment on a mission named Onward and Upward. Instead, Isar Aerospace called off the countdown, the fourth scrub of the second test flight since the campaign began in January.
The scrub and the fault
Isar Aerospace said on its website that a malfunction in the rocket’s fluid systems forced the abort. The fluid systems manage the storage and transport of liquid propellant to the engines. Engineers are now analyzing fresh data to track down the root cause. No details were given beyond the short statement.
A year of false starts
The 28‑meter, two‑stage Spectrum was first wheeled to the pad at Andøya early this year. The initial January attempt was halted by a technical glitch. In March a Norwegian fisherman failed to leave the safety zone in time, forcing teams to stand down. April’s try was cut short when engineers suspected leaks in a composite‑overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV). Monday’s scrub is the fourth postponement, all of them stretching a debut orbital mission that was supposed to happen months ago.
- First attempt scrubbed due to a technical problem.
- Second attempt halted when a fisherman failed to leave the safety zone.
- Third try aborted after suspicion of a COPV leak.
- Fourth scrub: fluid system malfunction forces abort minutes before liftoff.
Europe’s launch gap
The repeated delays matter beyond one startup. Europe currently has little ability to loft satellites with its own hardware. Most European spacecraft ride on SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Isar Aerospace is one of several German firms (others include Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse) racing to fill that gap. The European Space Agency backs the effort, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined the political weight by visiting the Andøya site on 13 March 2026 alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støhre.
Orders despite no flight
Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and has raised more than €500 million. It plans to build 40 Spectrum rockets a year at its Ottobrunn plant near Munich. The company says it is already fully booked with orders worth several hundred million dollars through 2028, even though the rocket has yet to reach series production. The first test flight in March 2025 performed as intended: the Spectrum launched successfully, flew for 30 seconds, and then plunged into the sea on schedule – the first ever orbital rocket launch from continental Europe outside Russia.
