Europe's best-funded space tech firm, Isar Aerospace, plans to strengthen the continent's access to orbital satellites after raising €150mn to expand its launch service.
Daniel Metzler, Isar's CEO and co-founder, said the investment reflects “strong confidence” in the company's mission to become a new European space leader.
“We are catering to the rising global demand for satellite launch services and provide global markets and governments with independent and flexible access to space,” he said.
Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technical University Munich, Isar aims to lower the cost and complexity of launching small to medium-sized satellites by offering launch services directly from Europe.
Europe's main rockets, Ariane 6 and Vega C, currently take off from Europe's primary spaceport in French Guiana, South America. The continent's companies are also largely reliant on SpaceX for access to orbit.
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Isar's launched its Spectrum rocket for the first time in March, marking the first-ever vertical orbital rocket launch in continental Europe outside Russia. While the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff, the milestone could open the door for future commercial launches direct from the continent.
“We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight, and even got to validate our flight termination system,” Metzler said at the time. “With this result, we feel confident to approach our second flight.”
Spectrum launch vehicles 2 and 3 are already in production, Isar said. However, no timeline has been provided for the next launch.
American investment firm Elridge Industries issued the funding in the form of a convertible bond. The fresh capital brings Isar's total raised to north of €600mn, according to Dealroom data.