Isar Aerospace Becomes First European Commercial Space Company to Deliver Satellites in Orbit
The milestone took place on Isar’s second flight.
(Andøya, Norway) Isar Aerospace on Sept. 5th became the first European commercial #space company to successfully deliver satellites into orbit, on the company’s second flight.
Image of Isar Aerospace’s ‘Onward and ‘Updard’ mission, which launched successfully on Sept. 5, 2026, courtesy of Isar Aerospace.
Mission ‘Onward and Upward’ lifted off from Isar’s dedicated launch complex at Andøya Space in Norway at 10:12 pm CEST, deploying payloads in orbit.
Per Isar, the mission’s payloads were selected through the Microlauncher Competition of the German Space Agency at DLR that provides educational institutions and start-ups with low-cost access to space; the Microlauncher Competition is funded by ESA Boost!
“We achieved within a few years what had taken the European space industry decades before,” said Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler. “Europe now has sovereign access to space. We have entered into a new chapter for European spaceflight.”
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on LinkedIn: “Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands, including in the space sector…A feat for Germany. A victory for all of Europe.”
