European space startup Isar raises $165 million for space travel
German spaceflight startup Isar Aerospace has gathered $165 million (€139.8 million) in the second round of funding which it hopes will offer stiff competition in an industry dominated by the billionaire space race.
Companies such as Porsche SE, Lombard Odier and HV Capital recently injected $75 million (€63.5 million) in private funding into the company as part of an extension round to bring up the total funds and bringing up the startups total value to $550 million (€466 million).
Isar is one of several startups looking to compete with the major players in the aerospace industry such as Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
Read more: German aerospace startup RFA offers stiff competition for SpaceX
This funding will allow Isar to continue its feasibility studies into spaceflight with plans to create the infrastructure to allow for the first major test flight of its rocket, Spectrum, at some point in 2022.
The "Series B" funding wave was first announced in December 2020. In total, the group has raised more than $180 million (€152 million) since its foundation in 2018.
“The support from new and existing investors is a strong sign of the momentum in the commercial space sector," said Daniel Metzler, Isar's CEO. "It shows that a broad array of investors has understood the significance of space technologies as a game-changer for many business models and breakthrough innovations."
The CEO claims the company is now the best-funded private space firm within the European Union and hopes to extend this market position to create "flexible" and "cost-efficient" access to space travel.
"For us at Isar Aerospace, this funding means even more firepower to invest in our infrastructure and further build on our foundation," he added.
The space industry has been receiving significant investments in recent years, which highlights it as a massive market for technological development.
The global space industry currently has a turnover of $423 billion, according to a Statistica report released in March 2021.
The space services market is expected to increase to over $30 billion by 2027 - with one-third of this being delivered by small and medium-sized satellites - often operated by smaller businesses and startups.
Read more: Isar Aerospace & SSC to test next-generation rocket engines
It is expected to provide a technological backbone for a number of key industries, such as automotive and telecoms by providing extra connectivity through satellite and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) services, data encryption, storage, as well as application in other fields such as smart farming and surveillance for tackling climate change, Isar claims.
Connectivity and digital data aggregation enabled via satellites present an opportunity for new technologies to spring up in both traditional industry and burgeoning sectors.
Lutz Meschke, an executive board member at Porsche SE, said: "We are excited to back Isar Aerospace on its way to become the leading European small-launcher and to meet the increasing appetite for launch services. The technological progress and the development speed of the whole organization are very impressive, and we look forward to supporting Isar Aerospace with its ambitious growth plans".
The price of development and launch of satellites and shuttles continues to go down in price, which may enable well-funded smaller companies to offer competitive prices for commercial spaceflight or spaceflight services.
However, the price for Isar's new rockets will still be more expensive than SpaceX's reusable shuttle. Isar is targeting a $10,000 per kilogram launch price. The group's chief claims the average price per launch in the modern spaceflight sectors sits at roughly $40,000 per kilogram for even the smallest satellites.
Read more: How Fujitsu is helping clean up space junk
Isar broke new ground by becoming the first privately funded space company to win a contract with the German government, with its mission to launch two satellites into orbit.
Another major investor, Airbus, is set to collaborate with the startup to launch an Earth observation satellite.
Back to Homepage
Back to Aerospace & Defence
Back to Technology & Innovation