Isar Aerospace wins European Innovation Council award / Exclusive cooperation with space station in Northern Norway

The Munich-based company Isar Aerospace has won the European Innovation Council (EIC) Horizon award "Low-Cost Space Launch". The company was honored for developing a technologically independent and cost-effective solution for launching small satellites into Earth’s orbit. Isar Aerospace is the exclusive partner of the spaceport on the northern Norwegian island of Andøya.

Isar Aerospace is Europe's leading provider of rocket launch services with a focus on small and medium-sized satellites. Isar Aerospace won the European Commission's EIC Horizon "Low-Cost Space Launch" award for its solution for launch services with the "Spectrum". The "Spectrum" is a two-stage launch vehicle that offers flexible and cost-effective access to space for small and medium-sized satellites, thereby advancing the European quest for sovereignty in space. The prize money is 10 million euros. According to Isar Aerospace, it will invest the money in the expansion of research and development capacities and in test and launching infrastructure.

In 2021, Isar Aerospace and Andøya Space, the operator of the spaceport on the northern Norwegian island of Andøya, signed a contract for the exclusive use of the launch pad on Andøya for a period of up to 20 years. Thus, the EIC Horizon Prize is also relevant for the space location Andøya.

Ketil Olsen, Acting CEO of Andøya Space: “Isar Aerospace is a very important partner in the development of Andøya Spaceport. We believe that Isar Aerospace, in cooperation with our spaceport, will develop into one of the leading European companies for space launches in the next few years. We congratulate Isar Aerospace on the EIC Horizon award and see it as confirmation of the path that Isar Aerospace has taken.”

Håkon Haugli, CEO Innovation Norway, joins in the congratulations: “We congratulate Isar Aerospace on this important award. In our role as Norway's national business promoter, we are optimistic about the further development of this German-Norwegian cooperation and what it can mean for the new economic sector 'New Space' in Northern Norway in the future."

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Andøya is situated 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Due to its location far north on the coast, Andøya can offer take-off slopes between 87.4 and 108 degrees. As the operator of the spaceport, Andøya Space offers launch pads, payload integration facilities, and technical infrastructure.