Isar Aerospace raises €270m to scale launch operations

German rocket startup Isar Aerospace has raised €270m in fresh funding as Europe races to bolster its sovereign space capabilities amid growing geopolitical tensions.

Founded in 2018, Isar is one of Europe's most heavily funded space startups and is positioning itself as a key supplier of launch services to European governments, NATO members and allied nations. The scaleup was recently floated as one of more than 100 companies which could be set to receive money from the EU’s new €5bn Scaleup Fund.

On Tuesday, the Munich-based startup announced new investors Island Green Capital and Molten Ventures had backed its Series D raise, alongside HV Capital, Lakestar and UVC Partners. The funding will be used to expand operations internationally and ramp up production of its Spectrum launch vehicle.

The raise comes little over a year after Isar carried out the first test flight of Spectrum from Andøya Spaceport in Norway, becoming the first commercial orbital launch attempt from mainland Europe. While the rocket failed to reach orbit, CEO Daniel Metzler dubbed the mission a "great success" and a critical test of its systems.

Isar said it plans to increase production capacity at its new factory near Munich, which is designed to manufacture up to 40 launch vehicles annually. The startup is also expanding its launch infrastructure, signing a letter of intent with Maritime Launch Services to develop a second launch site in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The company says demand for launch services is increasingly being driven by governments and defence customers seeking independent access to space. Isar claims that defence-related business now accounts for around 60% of demand, up from predominantly civil demand a year ago.

Europe remains heavily reliant on foreign launch providers. According to Isar, fewer than 10 orbital launches were conducted from Europe in 2025, compared with more than 190 in the US.