HOUSTON \u2014 European launch company Isar Aerospace has raised 270 million euros ($312 million) to support its global expansion as it prepares for its next launch attempt.<\/p>\n
The Munich-based company announced June 9 it closed a Series D round featuring new investors Island Green Capital and Molten Ventures. Several existing investors, including HV Capital, Lakestar and UVC Partners, with co-investor KfW Capital, also participated in the round.<\/p>\n
Isar said the funding will enable the company to expand production of its Spectrum small launch vehicle at a factory near Munich, with a goal of producing 40 vehicles a year. The company currently has 450 to 500 people working there and at its launch site, Josef Wiedemann, sales director at Isar Aerospace, said during a May 27 panel discussion at the SmallSat Europe conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne rocket is not enough. You need it industrialized,\u201d he said, particularly to meet growing defense demands for launch. \u201cYou need it in serial production.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company is also looking to expand beyond its home base in Europe. The company currently launches from And\u00f8ya Spaceport in Norway but announced May 26 a letter of intent with Canadian company Maritime Launch Services to use that company\u2019s planned Spaceport Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven strong demand from nations globally to deliver an integrated launch system for assured access to space, additional sites worldwide are under negotiation,\u201d Isar said in its statement about the funding round.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpace is no longer a frontier; it is the infrastructure of national power,\u201d Daniel Metzler, chief executive of Isar, said in the statement. \u201cWith this strategic backing, we are expanding access to space for nations worldwide, delivering an orbital launch system at scale for government and commercial customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isar sees new opportunities for defense customers in particular as European governments increase spending on military space activities, such as the German military\u2019s commitment last year to spend 35 billion euros over five years on space.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time now to start and industrialize,\u201d Wiedemann said of that growing launch demand. \u201cTo really scale, my message is the time is now, and it\u2019s good news on the one hand, but on the other hand, I\u2019m really convinced we need to further accelerate in the execution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isar Aerospace has performed one launch of Spectrum, designed to place up to a metric ton into low Earth orbit. That launch, in March 2025 from And\u00f8ya, malfunctioned shortly after liftoff,<\/a> with the rocket falling into waters adjacent to the launch pad.<\/p>\n