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Built in Munich.Launched for Europe. 

Isar Aerospace is building the first commercial orbital launch vehicle designed, manufactured, and operated entirely in Europe. Founded in 2018 by three alumni of the Technical University of Munich's WARR rocketry research group, the company has raised over €820 million and employs more than 400 people across five international locations. On March 30, 2025, Isar Aerospace completed the first test flight of a commercial orbital launch vehicle from continental European soil, marking a milestone in European space history. 

  • growth
  • deeptech
  • resilience-defence
Founders
Daniel Metzler Josef Fleischmann
HV Entry
2020
HQ
Munich, Germany
Investors
Fabian Gruner

As of today, no private company has ever launched a rocket into space from European soil.   

Isar Aerospace was founded to change that.   

 The Munich-based startup has developed Spectrum, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle designed to carry satellites of up to 1,000 kg into low Earth orbit, giving commercial operators and governments a European-built alternative for accessing space.  

 On March 30, 2025, Isar Aerospace made history: Spectrum became the first orbital launch vehicle developed by a private European company to lift off from continental Europe. The test flight met its primary objectives, generating critical flight data the team is applying toward future missions.  

1st

Launch attempt from European soil completed

€820M

Capital in funding

60

Metric tons of pure engineering excellence

As of today, no private company has ever launched a rocket into space from European soil.   

Isar Aerospace was founded to change that.   

 The Munich-based startup has developed Spectrum, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle designed to carry satellites of up to 1,000 kg into low Earth orbit, giving commercial operators and governments a European-built alternative for accessing space.  

 On March 30, 2025, Isar Aerospace made history: Spectrum became the first orbital launch vehicle developed by a private European company to lift off from continental Europe. The test flight met its primary objectives, generating critical flight data the team is applying toward future missions.  

Why Europe needs its own launch capability

For decades, Europe depended on a small number of launch options it did not fully control. State-backed launches from French Guiana provided limited flexibility, and Europe's deep reliance on Russian launch services ended abruptly in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Today, Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket launches infrequently, and sole dependence on US providers is not a viable long-term strategy for a continent that has made strategic autonomy a political priority. 

Space is not an abstract concern. It underpins GPS navigation, secure communications, weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and an expanding range of defense and intelligence capabilities. For Europe to maintain influence in these domains, it needs assured, sovereign access to orbit. 

"As Europeans, we need to work on our own security infrastructure, and space is absolutely paramount for that," says Fabian Gruner, partner at HV Capital, which first invested in Isar Aerospace at its Series B round in 2020. "It's the common denominator between all security technologies." 

The Spectrum rocket 

Isar Aerospace designs and manufactures Spectrum almost entirely in-house, including its engines and around 90% of all components, allowing it to test and iterate fast. Spectrum is a two-stage orbital launch vehicle, 28 meters tall, with a diameter of 2 meters and a mass of 60 metric tons. It is designed to carry payloads of up to 1,000 kg into low Earth orbit. 

The company is building a 40,000 m2 production facility near Munich, where rockets three through seven are already in production, with a target capacity of up to 40 vehicles per year. 

“There are few undertakings apart from perhaps nuclear fusion that are as complex as getting to space but I’m confident the founders have got what it takes. If you were to meet the founders of Isar Aerospace, you wouldn’t question what is bold and daring. What they’ve achieved already is astonishing.”

Fabian Gruner

Partner, HV

 On the path to orbit

Isar Aerospace's second test flight is planned for 2026. Getting Spectrum to orbit is the company's immediate priority, followed by scaling launch cadence to meet growing demand from both commercial and defense customers. 

"SpaceX took four flights to achieve orbital operations. I hope we'll be able to do it in less time, but this is literally rocket science," says Fabian Gruner. 

Europe conducted fewer than 10 orbital launches in all of 2025. The United States conducted more than 190. Closing that gap is not only an economic opportunity but a strategic imperative, and Isar Aerospace is the company best positioned to close it. 

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