Isar Aerospace to Launch German-Built Planet Imaging Satellite, Marking All-German Space Mission
Date: 2026-07-03
Featured image: [Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket on the launch pad at Andoya Spaceport; credit: Isar Aerospace]
Isar Aerospace has signed a contract with Planet Labs Germany GmbH to launch a high-resolution Pelican imaging satellite on the company’s Spectrum rocket, in what is being described as the first all-German satellite-rocket mission. The satellite, built at Planet’s Berlin manufacturing facility, will launch from Andoya Spaceport in Norway within the next year.
The mission demonstrates an end-to-end German space capability, a German-designed and manufactured satellite launching on a German-designed and manufactured rocket, addressing a capability gap that European space officials have identified as critical following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting loss of Soyuz launch access.
“This is a landmark moment for European space sovereignty,” said Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace. “Space is no longer a frontier; it is the infrastructure of national power.”
The Pelican Satellite
Planet’s Pelican satellite offers 50-centimeter-class multispectral imagery across six bands, with next-generation variants targeting 30-centimeter resolution. The satellite features an onboard NVIDIA Jetson platform for AI-powered image processing in orbit. Planet currently has five operational Pelicans in orbit with a sixth commissioning, and the Berlin factory, a EUR 45 million investment, will double production capacity while adding approximately 70 jobs to the existing 150-person Berlin team.
Planet Labs Germany GmbH already holds a EUR 240 million multi-year agreement with the German government, signed in July 2025, for dedicated Pelican capacity over European regions alongside Dove and SkySat data and AI-enabled solutions. The company also operates under a NATO intelligence contract won in 2025.
The Spectrum Rocket and Launch Timeline
Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum is a two-stage, liquid-fueled small launch vehicle capable of delivering up to 1,000 kilograms to low-Earth orbit. The rocket is produced at the company’s new Parsdorf factory near Munich, which targets production of up to 40 vehicles per year through high automation and vertical integration.
Spectrum’s inaugural flight in March 2025 failed approximately 30 seconds after liftoff due to a loss of attitude control. A second flight attempt has been scrubbed multiple times in 2026: January (pressurization valve), March (range violation), April (COPV leak), and most recently June 15 when off-nominal behavior in the vehicle’s fluid systems triggered a scrub hours before launch. Isar Aerospace is still conducting root-cause analysis on the fluid system anomaly.
Despite the delays, Isar’s launch manifest through 2028 remains robust, including missions for ESA (ZYNDEO-3, fourth quarter 2026), NOSA, ElevationSpace, Astroscale (the first active debris removal mission), SEOPS, R-Space, and multiple ESA Flight Ticket Initiative payloads.
A Broader German Space Ambition
The deal arrives in the context of Germany’s EUR 35 billion military space investment announced by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in September 2025, the largest European commitment of its kind. The investment targets hardened satellite systems, space situational awareness, guardian satellites, secure launch capabilities, and a dedicated Bundeswehr Space Command operations center.
“The fact that a German company is building the satellite, a German company is building the rocket, and they are coming together for this mission shows the flourishing New Space ecosystem we have in Germany,” said Minister Dorothee Bar, Germany’s coordinator for research, technology, and space.
Financial terms of the launch contract were not disclosed. The mission is expected to launch in late 2026 or early 2027, subject to Spectrum’s return to flight and the resolution of the June fluid system anomaly.
Source: 1ban.news