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OSLO: German startup Isar Aerospace on Sunday said it would rapidly expand satellite deployments after the first \u200corbital launch of its Spectrum rocket from Arctic Norway, a milestone for Europe\u2019s efforts to secure independent access to space.<\/span><\/p>\n The uncrewed Spectrum became the first commercial rocket to reach orbit from continental Europe, marking a breakthrough for a region where several countries are seeking a foothold in the fast-growing market for \u200bsatellite launches.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLaunch capability is right now the biggest bottleneck in the entire industry,\u201d Isar co-founder and CEO Daniel Metzler \u200btold reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n He said privately owned Isar remains well-funded and that an initial public offering \u201cis not on the \u2060table\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed Saturday\u2019s launch in a statement, calling it \u201cthe beginning of a new era\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Merz visited Isar\u2019s launch site in \u200bMarch, underscoring Europe\u2019s efforts to establish greater autonomy as the global order once championed by the United States is shifting under U.S. President \u200bDonald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n Blasting off from Norway\u2019s Arctic Andoeya Spaceport, Spectrum carried five small satellites along with an in-flight technology experiment, according to Isar. The rocket is designed to serve the growing market for small and medium-sized payloads.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEurope\u2019s independent access to space just got a major boost,\u201d EU Defence and Space \u200bCommissioner Andrius Kubilius wrote on social media platform X.<\/span><\/p>\n It was Isar\u2019s second launch, coming 18 months after the company\u2019s first rocket \u200bplunged into the sea and exploded in a fiery spectacle shortly after takeoff from the same site. No one was injured.<\/span><\/p>\n Isar said it already has \u200cfive \u2060more rockets in production and is now focused on scaling up operations to meet rising demand, with a long-term goal of conducting around 40 launches a year.<\/span><\/p>\n The German company is developing a second launch site in Nova Scotia in eastern Canada, and said on Sunday this could be ready for lift-offs in 2028.<\/span><\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s launch was intended as \u201cboth the vehicle\u2019s qualification mission and its first flight carrying payload,\u201d the \u200bBavarian company said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that \u200bwe can now launch satellites \u2060from Andoeya strengthens Norwegian and European security in the turbulent times we live in,\u201d said Norway\u2019s minister of industry and commerce, Cecilie Myrseth.<\/span><\/p>\n Global players in the satellite launch market include Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, which \u200blaunches from the United States, and French ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran that \u200buses a spaceport \u2060in South America\u2019s French Guiana.<\/span><\/p>\n SpaceX, a company spanning rockets, satellites and AI, in June listed on the Nasdaq exchange in a record initial public offering.<\/span><\/p>\n Sweden, with its Esrange launch site, and Britain with its SaxaVord Spaceport in the Scottish Shetland Islands, are the nearest rivals to the \u2060Norwegian site, \u200ball of which aim to give Europe greater autonomy in space flights.<\/span><\/p>\nSECURITY IN \u2018TURBULENT TIMES\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n