German rocket maker Isar Aerospace has raised €270 million as it looks to expand launch operations and scale production of its Spectrum launch vehicle. Sources close to the company confirmed that the raise was made at a post-money valuation of around €2 billion.
The funding is coming at a heady moment for companies working in space tech. Not only is SpaceX expected to go public later this month (potentially within a week), but yesterday another European startup, Iceye, raised a whopping €1 billion at a €10 billion valuation.
The Series D round was backed by new investors Island Green Capital and Molten Ventures, alongside existing backers including HV Capital, Lakestar and UVC Partners with co-investor KfW Capital. Isar said the funding will support international expansion and increase production capacity as it pursues what it describes as sovereign space capabilities for Europe, NATO and allied nations.
The funding will also support a growing launch network. Alongside its facility at Andøya in northern Norway, Isar wants to add Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canada and is negotiating access to other sites around the world.
The investment comes as Isar prepares for the qualification flight of Spectrum, its orbital launch vehicle for small and medium-sized satellites. The mission, dubbed Onward and Upward, is scheduled to carry five CubeSats and an experiment for the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme during a launch window opening between 15 and 21 June.
Isar said demand for launch services has increasingly shifted towards defence customers. According to the company, defence-related programmes now account for around 60% of demand, compared with a customer base that was previously dominated by civil missions.
Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace, said: “Space is no longer a frontier; it is the infrastructure of national power. With this strategic backing, we are expanding access to space for nations worldwide, delivering an orbital launch system at scale for government and commercial customers.”
The company said its new production facility near Munich is designed to manufacture up to 40 Spectrum launch vehicles annually. It is also seeking to grow its role in government and defence programmes, including through a cooperation with TKMS linked to Canada’s Patrol Submarine Project.
The announcement comes as European governments place greater emphasis on assured access to space, a capability identified in the recent SPARTA 2.0 study as a key gap in Europe’s ability to operate independently in future security crises.
