Europe’s first privately funded rocket reaches space, but the continent should not settle for that

For the first time, a privately funded European orbital rocket has reached Earth orbit. Isar Aerospace’s 28-meter Spectrum lifted off from a launch site in Norway late on Saturday and carried five small satellites into low Earth orbit.

The achievement brings Europe closer to the independent access to space that European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher has repeatedly called necessary. In the current global situation, he has argued, Europe cannot afford to depend on American rocket companies such as SpaceX.

Spectrum is designed for small payloads of up to one tonne. It therefore complements the ESA’s Vega-C and Ariane 6 rockets, which carry medium and heavy payloads of more than 10 tonnes. The ESA congratulated Isar Aerospace on what it described as a historic launch.

The success also reflects the persistence of a company founded eight years ago. Isar Aerospace continued after a failed launch last year and secured a 200 million euro ESA contract in August through the European Launcher Challenge. With Spectrum’s successful qualification flight, the agency’s support for private space companies appears to have gained a strong vindication.

The timing is favorable. Demand for launches has surged in recent years, driven especially by companies planning huge satellite constellations. At the same time, there are not enough rockets to put all those satellites into space. Europe’s first private orbital success is therefore an important step, but not a reason for the continent to declare the rocket crisis over.