SpaceX · Japan · Germany · European Union · Ars Technica
Some satellite companies still have an appetite for boutique launch services
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If you ask most satellite companies aside from SpaceX, they will tell you the world doesn’t have enough capacity for launching payloads into orbit.
Key facts
- Their missions are around that area, under a ton, but in the 500 to 700 kilogram area
- As far as 500-kilogram to 1-ton class, there are not a lot of options
- ADRAS-J2 follows a highly successful demo mission called ADRAS-J that approached and inspected the same Japanese rocket body in 2024
- Chris Blackerby: It was Sunday morning, 5 am or so Japan time, and the reporter was up watching
Summary
Customers in any sector will, of course, usually welcome competition. So it’s no surprise satellite operators are cheering the success of a new launch provider. Isar’s success is good news for Europe’s space sector, eager for a new path to orbit alongside the continent’s incumbent launch providers, Arianespace and Avio. Halfway around the world from Europe, executives at the Japanese-headquartered satellite company Astroscale were awake at 5 am local time on Sunday to watch the live webcast from Norway as Isar aimed for the stars.