Thousands of people in cities all over Europe are working to ensure European access to space bringing all the benefits of our wider Universe to people on Earth This satellite photo highlights one of the cities of Ariane 6 where people are working to make Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket from cars to aircraft and also space transport Just south of Munich in Ottobrunn is where ArianeGroup design authority and prime contractor for the Ariane 6 rocket has an office for its spacecraft propulsion division Vulcain 2.1 is the main stage engine for Ariane 6 and sits at the bottom of the rocket's central core Calling Vulcain an engine hardly does it justice this rocket engine uses super-cooled liquid oxygen and hydrogen as fuel kept below –180°C and the engine provides over 1370 kN of thrust – ten times more than the takeoff thrust of a typical passenger jet Higher up on the Ariane 6 rocket is the Vinci engine it ignites once the upper stage has escaped the clutches of gravity and places satellites into their precise orbit – it can then ignite again The restarting allows Ariane 6 to reach a larger range of orbits to deliver more payloads on a single launch southern Bavaria—about 13 kilometres from Munich the beginnings of a revolution in aircraft technology are starting to take shape high-tech facility has sprung from the ground in record time But this is no ordinary facility: at more than 3,000 m2  it is the largest test house dedicated exclusively to alternative propulsion systems and fuels in Europe NASA in the US is the only other organisation in the world to offer comparable facilities This means Airbus can now test the latest electric motors and hybrid-electric engines directly on its own premises and develop its own low-emission alternative propulsion units [EAS House] is where we put the engines through their paces We can test everything from electric motors for unmanned flying taxis to hybrid-electric engines for the commercial aircraft of the future “This is where we put the engines through their paces,” explains Martin Nüsseler “We can test everything from electric motors for unmanned flying taxis to hybrid-electric engines for the commercial aircraft of the future.” The EAS House is a €50-million investment with one clear goal: to develop the in-depth expertise on the alternative propulsion technology needed to help the first generation of zero-emission commercial aircraft take to the skies within the 2030s timeframe And that objective is already on the right track. At the EAS House, the E-Fan X is the flagship project Airbus is developing the E-Fan X to accelerate progress on hybrid-electric technology and to establish the requirements for future certification of zero-emission commercial aircraft Rolls-Royce will deliver the electric motor that will replace one of the four gas turbines installed on the test aircraft—a BAe 146. The electric motor will be equipped with 2 MW of power.  How will altitude and speed affect this power?” asks Olivier Maillard “We need to find solutions to both of these questions But if the company’s successive electrification projects have helped to gradually change minds on the potential of electric flight Airbus hopes the EAS House will mark a “tipping point” for the aviation industry to see alternative propulsion as a serious and viable technology that can be widely adopted A German start-up is at the forefront of the ambitious market for manufacturers of civilian rockets: Munich-based launch service provider Isar Aerospace Josef Fleischmann (CTO) and Markus Brandl (Head of Combustion) met each other during their studies at the Technical University of Munich Together they undertook research on smaller rockets and performed launches as part of the Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight (WARR) they were approached by companies that wanted to purchase rocket propulsion systems The three asked themselves why the industry would want to purchase rocket engines from students – could they not make them themselves then would they need the entire launch vehicle “We recognised the high demand from industry for more cost-effective and flexible rocket launch solutions” And so the idea for Isar Aerospace was born the company that was founded in 2018 and located in Ottobrunn near Munich employs over 200 people from over 40 countries The first test flight of the Spectrum launch vehicle is scheduled for 2025 from the Norwegian island of Andøya Their customers include Airbus Defence and Space The business hit the ground running to become one of the most important players on the market for launch vehicles and has already raised 180 million US dollars in funding Investment holding company Porsche SE is the most recent addition to their ranks of investors telecoms and automotive manufacturers will not be the only ones that depend on satellites” “Nearly every company and every organisation will.” Isar Aerospace wants to meet rising global demand for flexible and affordable access to space we wouldn’t have services like GPS or Google Maps” “Tracking ship and aircraft locations would be impossible we can use satellites to ensure access to high-speed Internet all over the world.” As a result aerospace technology is setting the pace for new business models and platforms for innovation and future technologies An entire sector is developing out of this field the global market for space launch services is expected to increase to over 30 billion euros by 2027” Analysts from Allied Market Research estimate that the market constituted by small and flexible rocket manufacturers will increase to 8.1 billion euros by 2027 only two such small commercial rockets are operational today experts estimate that close to 10,000 satellites will orbit the Earth most of them being small satellites under 250 kilograms And this is precisely the market Isar Aerospace is targeting the satellites that the start-up plans to transport to space with the 28-metre-long Spectrum launch vehicle will circle the Earth in low Earth orbit conventional GPS systems work with satellites that orbit at about 20,000 kilometres above the planet The satellites are a key strategic tool for the entire automotive industry even though it is used for transmitting data to car entertainment systems or connecting factories But automotive manufacturers will not be the only ones dependent on satellites in future – nearly every public or private company and every organisation that works with information or complex communication technologies will need them as well The satellite images can also be used to monitor the environment; for example “Satellites make it possible to monitor and measure changes in the Earth’s surfaces then develop a plan of action to protect them” They can be used to quickly localise the source of forest fires or determine the extent of flooding using data in real time Isar Aerospace announced the conclusion of a launch service agreement with New Space start-up OroraTech “Their nano-satellites will be used to help combat wildfires around the world and the global climate crisis through satellite-supported services for detecting and monitoring forest fires” Isar Aerospace was able to raise 220 million euros in the most recent funding round the start-up has already raised over 400 million euros this makes them the fastest-growing and best-financed space start-up in Europe Experts value the company at around one billion euros invested during the latest round of financing Isar Aerospace had already muscled its way ahead of two German competitors: Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies from Baden-Wuerttemberg KfW Capital invests in German and European venture capital funds which in turn invest in fast growing technology companies in Germany and thus strengthen the companies’ capital base KfW subsidiary KfW Capital invested via two venture capital funds: HV Capital and UVC “UVC showed support for Isar Aerospace back at a very early stage as a seed investor They believed in the team and our vision before there was much to show for it” “HV Capital then joined the fold as a new investor at the end of 2020 in the series B round and then significantly increased its investment in the series B extension.” Jörg Goschin adds: “We are pleased with the cooperation with UVC Partners and HV Capital on financing for Isar Aerospace Isar Aerospace is also an excellent example of how venture capital makes it possible for technologically ambitious start-ups in Germany to execute their business plans The investors are most pleased by the fact that Isar Aerospace has cost-effective production A key factor here is that manufacturing is largely automated Many of the propulsion drive components are made using 3D printers; the milling machines are partly operated by robots Ninety per cent of their manufacturing is in-house we are the only ones that carry out the entire value creation process in-house” “from design software and expertise to test facilities and production.” One launch currently costs customers around 10,000 euros per kilogram of payload – around four times less than at other small launch vehicle manufacturers Isar Aerospace was in the right place at the right time Although German satellite manufacturers could launch using US rocket manufacturers that would mean that they would depend on America And neither businesses nor policy-makers want to repeat the mistake they made when the Internet was set up Europeans do not want to surrender this field to the United States and become dependent again Isar Aerospace has been awarded the EIC Horizon Prize "Low-Cost Space Launch" worth 10 million euros by the European Commission This applies in particular to data traffic The European Commission is planning to create its own secure data communication network in space Mobile Internet connections also use satellites and Europe does not want to surrender this information to US intelligence services any longer Isar Aerospace is part of the consortium which wants to operate the construction of the system under the leadership of the French start-up Rovial. “We believe in a technologically sovereign Europe where the entire value chain originates within Europe” The ‘Going Full Spectrum’ mission was launched from Andøya Spaceport in Norway on 30 March 2025 the launch vehicle first had to accelerate to 28,000 kilometres per hour at take-off and was then destroyed in a controlled manner after just under a minute in flight further rockets built in Munich-Ottobrunn will be ready for the next tests The test flight marks the first launch of an orbital vehicle from the European mainland which was developed and built entirely by Isar Aerospace did not transport any customer payloads on this first flight the focus was solely on gathering as much data and experience as possible The results of the test will be incorporated into the further development of future Spectrum vehicles which are being built and tested in parallel Isar Aerospace is endeavouring to make an important contribution to European space autonomy and to lay the foundations for independent and competitive access to space from Europe Published on KfW Stories on 10 December 2021 All United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015 At its heart is a list of 17 goals for sustainable development known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Our world should become a place where people are able to live in peace with each other in ways that are ecologically compatible by the following photographers/photo agencies are used: