WASHINGTON \u2014 German launch startup Isar Aerospace won a contract to launch a European technology demonstration satellite on its Spectrum rocket in late 2026.<\/p>\n
Isar Aerospace announced Dec. 1 that it will launch the mission, called \u03a3YNDEO-3, in the fourth quarter of 2026. The satellite is part of the European Union\u2019s In-Orbit Demonstration and In-Orbit Validation (IOD\/IOV) Program to flight-test new spacecraft technologies.<\/p>\n
For this mission, the spacecraft will carry 10 payloads from five European countries and the European Commission, but the announcement did not disclose details about the payloads. ESA implements to IOD\/IOV program on the behalf of the Commission, with funding from the EU\u2019s Horizon 2020 research program.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft is being built by Redwire Space\u2019s European business unit, using its Hammerhead satellite bus based on the company\u2019s work on ESA\u2019s PROBA missions. The Hammerhead bus weighs 175 kilograms and can accommodate up to 120 kilograms of payloads.<\/p>\n
That comfortably fits into the payload capacity of Spectrum, which is designed to place up to one metric ton into orbit. A spokesperson for Isar said the launch contract is not for a dedicated launch, allowing Isar to fly additional payloads, but declined to disclose financial details of the award.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the \u03a3YNDEO-3 contract came less than two weeks after an American payload aggregator, SEOPS, announced it bought a Spectrum launch in 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur launch manifest is filling rapidly, as our global commercial and institutional customers recognize the value of flexible, cost-effective access to space,\u201d Stella Guillen, chief commercial officer of Isar Aerospace, said in a statement about the \u03a3YNDEO-3 contract.<\/p>\n