Bavarian Minister-President Dr Markus Söder visits Isar Aerospace’s test site in Sweden

• At its test site in Sweden, Isar Aerospace is performing acceptance testing of rocket engines ahead of first test flight

• Development at top speed: From Opening the test site in 2020 to acceptance testing of flight engines in under 4 years

• Creating autonomous, competitive, and flexible space launch capabilities is part of Isar Aerospace’s vision to reinforce Europe’s strategic independence

Kiruna, Sweden, 23 February 2024 – The Bavarian Minister-President, Dr Markus Söder, visited Isar Aerospace today at its engine testing facility at Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden. As Isar Aerospace is on the final stretch to its first test flight, Minister-President Söder took the opportunity to take a closer look at the space company’s fully in-house developed “Aquila" rocket engine on the test rig. The engine is currently undergoing acceptance testing and will be one of ten engines to fly on the first test flight of Isar Aerospace's Spectrum launch vehicle.

Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder: "Bavaria One International: Space companies from Bavaria are active worldwide - like here at the Esrange Space Center north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. Our space program Bavaria One, which was initially ridiculed, is an international success story. Bavaria is Germany's Space Valley. 550 companies and 65,000 employees work in aerospace in Bavaria. We are also building Europe's largest aerospace faculty at the Technical University of Munich. With the Hightech Agenda Bavaria, we are investing a total of over five billion euros in research and science. This is being recognized worldwide. Thanks to Isar Aerospace for the insights into their work. Above all, we can learn a lot about our planet by looking into space. This helps with CleanTech, medicine and tackling climate change. Technology is the future. Live long and prosper!"

„We are honored to welcome the Bavarian Minister-President at our test site in Sweden. We are pleased to showcase our progress towards providing Europe with competitive, flexible and sovereign access to space. Here at Esrange, we have outstanding conditions to test our fully inhouse developed rocket engines to our own specifications and on our own test schedules. This flexibility and independence is crucial on our ambitious path to orbit,” said Josef Fleischmann, COO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace.

Isar Aerospace has built one of Europe’s most advanced test rigs for rocket engines at the Swedish Space Corporation’s premises in Esrange. The company started the development of its Kiruna test site in 2020 and carried out the first development tests for the Aquila engine in early 2021. As of today, Isar Aerospace conducts 10-15 tests per month at the site.

Dr Markus Söder’s visit at Isar Aerospace’s test site in Sweden not only recognizes the company’s technological advancements but also underlines the importance of space for European prosperity and sovereignty and the need for a European collaboration space. To this end, Isar Aerospace is a beacon of the strength of European collaboration and commercial space: While the company’s launch vehicles are designed, produced and assembled in Germany by a team of over 50 nationalities, its Aquila rocket engines are tested in Sweden and launches will take place from Andøya Spaceport in Norway and in the future also from Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana.

Photo Credit: Bayerische Staatskanzlei

Isar Aerospace, based in Ottobrunn/Munich, develops and builds launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into Earth’s orbit. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off of Technical University Munich. Since then, it has grown to more than 400 employees from more than 50 nations with many years of hands-on rocket know-how and experience within other high-tech industries. More information via: www.isaraerospace.com

Tina Schmitt
E  tina.schmitt@isaraerospace.com