Isar Aerospace Set for Second Spectrum Launch After Successful Test Flight
Isar Aerospace, a German space company, is gearing up for its second Spectrum rocket launch, planned for late 2023 or early 2024. This mission, part of the European Space Agency's 'Boost!' program, will carry several cubesats. Despite the first launch failing to reach orbit, the company considers it a successful test flight and is working towards qualifying the vehicle for operations.
The first Spectrum launch on March 30, 2023, encountered two main issues. Firstly, an unintentionally opened vent valve allowed cryogenic vapors to escape, which could have caused problems later in the launch. Secondly, and more significantly, the vehicle lost attitude control due to improperly characterized bending modes at liftoff. This led the vehicle to go outside the safety zone, triggering the in-house developed flight termination system, which fortunately worked perfectly.
Isar Aerospace is now addressing these issues. They are refining their flight termination system and working on better characterizing the vehicle's bending modes to prevent future attitude control problems. The company is also seeing strong interest in its Spectrum rocket, particularly from European programs like the Flight Ticket Initiative and European Launcher Challenge. With no other European space launch company planning its first orbital launch in the near future, Isar Aerospace is poised to make a significant impact.
Isar Aerospace's second Spectrum launch, planned for late 2023 or early 2024, will aim to reach orbit and qualify the vehicle for operations. The company is working diligently to address the issues faced in the first launch and is seeing strong interest from European space programs. With a proposed gradual increase in launch cadence, aiming for six to eight launches in 2028, Isar Aerospace is set to become a key player in the European space launch industry.
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