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launchseismicupdated 7 Sep2026-09-05

Isar Aerospace reaches orbit with Spectrum on second flight

Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket reached orbit from Norway, the first orbital-class launch from Western Europe.

Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket lifted off from Andoya Spaceport in Norway on its second flight, carrying five cubesats and one ESA-sponsored experiment, and reached orbit roughly seven minutes after liftoff, per NRK and Aftenposten. The rocket's March 2025 debut failed 30 seconds after launch, and five subsequent launch attempts this year were scrubbed for technical and weather reasons before Saturday's flight. Isar Aerospace itself reported the second stage achieved a preliminary 180 x 500 km orbit, per SpaceNews reporter Jeff Foust. Isar's chief commercial officer Stella Guillen told CNBC on September 7 that the company's order pipeline is now worth more than 10 billion euros, though the company has not said how much of that is signed.

launchseismic2026-07-18

Skyroot's Vikram-1 becomes India's first privately built rocket to reach orbit

Skyroot's Vikram-1 reached orbit on its debut flight, becoming the first privately built rocket to do so from India.

Skyroot Aerospace's four-stage Vikram-1 rocket lifted off from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 18 and placed multiple payloads into a roughly 450-kilometer low Earth orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff, per SpaceNews. Reuters reported the rocket stands about 22 meters tall, uses three solid-fuel stages plus a liquid-fuel orbital adjustment module with a 3D-printed engine, and can carry up to 350 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The mission, called Aagaman, carried customer and technology-demonstration payloads including cubesats from Skyroot and Grahaa Space and hosted payloads from Dcubed and Cosmoserve Space, according to SpaceNews.

financialseismic2026-02-11

Orbex enters UK administration after acquisition and funding talks collapse

Orbex filed for UK administration in February after Series D funding talks and an acquisition by The Exploration Company both fell through.

Orbex, developer of the UK's Prime small launch vehicle, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on February 11, 2026, after failing to close a Series D funding round or complete a previously announced acquisition by French company The Exploration Company, per SpaceNews, Via Satellite, and European Spaceflight. Orbex, a winner of ESA's European Launcher Challenge that had received EUR34.9 million ($41.5 million) from the program, had already shut down its Danish rocket-engine subsidiary and laid off about 90 employees in January; administration puts roughly 150 further UK jobs at risk. CEO Phil Chambers said: "Disappointing doesn't come close to describing how we feel about this moment."

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