SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
German launch startup Isar Aerospace says it is ready to begin commercial launches of its Spectrum rocket after a successful test flight earlier this month, marking a transition from development testing toward operational launch services in Europe’s emerging commercial space market.
Europe
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German launch startup Isar Aerospace says it is ready to begin commercial launches of its Spectrum rocket after a successful test flight earlier this month, marking a transition from development testing toward operational launch services in Europe’s emerging commercial space market.
HawkEye 360 is deepening its European footprint through a partnership with Leonardo, the creation of its first Luxembourg subsidiary and a separate collaboration with ERA. The moves broaden the company’s regional industrial and commercial relationships around satellite-based radio-frequency intelligence and geospatial data services.
Planet Labs Germany will provide dedicated Earth-observation capacity to Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior under a contract announced Sept. 16. The agreement gives the ministry access to dedicated constellation services, expanding commercial satellite support for German government applications.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian drones attacked Moldovan airspace on two occasions while he was traveling through the country aboard his aircraft. The disclosure underscores the spillover risk to civil and government aviation from Russia’s ongoing drone operations near Ukraine and neighboring states.
Air Force officials say the F-35 demonstrated combat value during Middle East operations, even as GAO found three in four aircraft unable to fly a full mission and sustainment needs reached $13.7 billion. Europe received more than three dozen jets in the past year, while Switzerland’s procurement faces rising costs and contract scrutiny.
German launch startup Isar Aerospace plans to more than double its launch capacity in 2028, signaling an effort to scale production and operations in response to strong demand for access to space. The company is backed by the NATO Innovation Fund.
Thales is pursuing additional international sales of its UK-produced Lightweight Modular Missile (LMM), citing export demand as important to sustaining production in Belfast. The company has sharply increased output since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022 and outlined a new UK technology strategy.
France has ordered early development work for five Rafale F5 systems, including the RBE2-XG radar, SPECTRA F5 electronic-warfare suite and M88 T-REX engine. The activity establishes the core technology package ahead of the next-generation Rafale standard’s launch.
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