Scenes from Isar Aerospace testing it’s fully in-house designed, developed and built Aquila engine, during a hotfire test at the company’s engine test site in Esrange, Sweden.

The Munich-based commercial launch service company Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and has raised €310 million from private investors. Being fully privately financed, the company builds on a high vertical integration and designs, builds, and tests nearly all systems for its Spectrum launch vehicle in-house, including the Aquila engine.

As of October 2023, Isar Aerospace is in the final stages of preparation towards its first test flight of Spectrum: After having completed the system designs of its launch vehicle Spectrum, it currently is in the production phase of all parts of the rocket, including the flight engines.

The company has been supported by ESA’s Business Incubation Centre and Boost! contracts in 2020 and 2021.