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🇳🇴 Norway /Technology

Successful rocket launch from Andøya reaches orbit

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum 2 rocket reached orbit seven minutes after launching from Andøya Spaceport in Norway.
  • The launch marked the first time a Western European launch vehicle reached Earth orbit, according to NRK.
  • The company said the mission aims to collect data for future launches after earlier attempts were aborted and Spectrum 1 failed shortly after launch.

Isar Aerospace wrote a new chapter in European spaceflight on Saturday evening when its Spectrum 2 rocket successfully launched from Andøya Spaceport and reached orbit around Earth.

The rocket carried satellites intended for orbit. According to NRK, it became the first launch vehicle from Western Europe to reach Earth orbit. Seven minutes after liftoff, Spectrum 2 was in orbit, while live images from the rocket reached Earth for 10 minutes after it left Andøya.

“It is absolutely incredible,” chief engineer Nikolaos Perakis said during the live broadcast.

The success followed a difficult campaign. Spectrum 1 ended up in the sea after just 30 seconds in the air when it launched in March 2025. Since then, Isar Aerospace has made several attempts to launch Spectrum 2, but different problems forced repeated aborts.

Perakis said before the launch that the mission’s goal was to gather data for later launches.

It is absolutely incredible.

· Nikolaos PerakisThe company’s chief engineer reacted during the live broadcast after Spectrum 2 reached orbit.
About this summary

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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