Isar Aerospace has entered into a firm, launch services agreement with space infrastructure company, D-Orbit.
The company’s launch vehicle, Spectrum, which is developed for small and medium satellites and satellite constellations, will launch D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier as a primary customer to SSO from its launch site in Andøya, Norway, with a launch term starting in 2023.
Isar Aerospace and D-Orbit share the mission to contribute to humanity’s progress and Earth’s sustainable, technological, and economic development by reducing the barriers to access space. The companies are offering start-ups, companies and public institutions opportunities to launch and place satellites in orbit in a flexible and cost-efficient way.
Based in Italy, D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier can gear satellites to distinct spots in orbit, hosting several payloads during each mission. The company’s solution is to reduce the time from launch to operations by as much as 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. Earlier this year, D-Orbit announced plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
Currently, most satellite constellations are launched to SSO and the demand for individual solutions is rising as many satellite constellations require specific orbit deployments to exercise their full efficiency. D-Orbit was the first in-space transportation company to prove it could move satellites in orbit to their desired orbital destinations from the point where a launch vehicle drops them off. This matches Isar Aerospace’s flexibility to target various orbits and will be further specified by D-Orbit’s capabilities to release satellites to distinct orbital slots.
“We are pleased to welcome D-Orbit on board Spectrum’s flight and thank the D-Orbit team for the trust they place in us. We are looking forward to working towards our common goal of reducing the barriers to flexible space access”, said Stella Guillen, Chief Commercial Officer of Isar Aerospace.
Renato Panesi, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of D-Orbit, said, “We are glad to partner with Isar Aerospace and have great confidence in the technological development of the Spectrum launch vehicle. Together we will leverage the potential of in-orbit transportation.”
D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions. D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit. D-Orbit has offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit S.p.A. becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.
Isar Aerospace, based in Ottobrunn/Munich, develops and builds launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into Earth’s orbit. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technical University Munich. Since then, it has grown to more than 250 employees from more than 40 nations with many years of hands-on rocket know-how as well as experience within other high-tech industries. The company is privately financed by former SpaceX VP Bulent Altan as well as world-leading investors including Airbus Ventures, Apeiron, Earlybird, HV Capital, Lakestar, Lombard Odier, Porsche SE, UVC Partners, and Vsquared Ventures.