Quote from: ringsider on 07/31/2021 04:13 pmBut Germany hasn't had a launch site since either WW2, or perhaps the OTRAG-era in Zaire, has it? Also, do they have a legal framework today to allow a German rocket to be licensed to launch, apart from the standard (minimalist) UN OST adherence everybody has?For what it's worth, Isar plans to launch from Andøya Space Center in Norway, not from German soil. Since Andøya has hosted suborbital launches for decades, I'd think they'd be in a good place to understand the licensing requirements necessary to upgrade to orbital services.
But Germany hasn't had a launch site since either WW2, or perhaps the OTRAG-era in Zaire, has it? Also, do they have a legal framework today to allow a German rocket to be licensed to launch, apart from the standard (minimalist) UN OST adherence everybody has?
Quote from: trimeta on 07/31/2021 08:14 pmQuote from: ringsider on 07/31/2021 04:13 pmBut Germany hasn't had a launch site since either WW2, or perhaps the OTRAG-era in Zaire, has it? Also, do they have a legal framework today to allow a German rocket to be licensed to launch, apart from the standard (minimalist) UN OST adherence everybody has?For what it's worth, Isar plans to launch from Andøya Space Center in Norway, not from German soil. Since Andøya has hosted suborbital launches for decades, I'd think they'd be in a good place to understand the licensing requirements necessary to upgrade to orbital services.Does Norway already have laws that can permit an orbital launch, or only suborbital?
Also, can a German orbital launcher company fly a vehicle from Norway on a Norwegian license, or does it still need a license from the government of it's own country?
Not sure how that works. It must be related to who holds the liability; normally the launching state holds the full liability e.g. with a US vehicle there is zero confusion about who is licensing and thus liable.
But this situation potentially blurs lines. For example, why would Norway accept the unlimited liability under UN OST of a German vehicle going wrong, when all it provides is the concrete launch pad?
Equally why would Germany let a private company head off to Norway and potentially create an unlimited risk to the carefully-managed German budget without some direct oversight?
Might it be that both countries need to permit the launch?
As participation condition of the German micro launcher competition, Isar Aerospace will offerlaunch opportunities for institutional payloads of up to 150 kg total mass including adaptersand/or dispensers on each of their two demonstration flights of the Spectrum launch vehicle. Thenumber of payloads per flight is not pre-defined. The selection of payloads will be done by theGerman Space Agency at DLR in consultation with Isar Aerospace and ESA.<snip>The maiden flight is currently planned for Q3 2022, the followup flight in 2023.<snip>The maximum aggregated mass of the spacecrafts/payloads eligible under this Announcement ofOpportunity is 150 kg.<snip>The reference orbit for the maiden flight is a low altitude polar orbit (< 400 km). Other polar orbitsmight be considered within the Spectrum launch system capabilities and in line with achievableorbits from the Andøya Spaceport. The altitude may change for the second Spectrum flight.<snip>The applications of all potential payload providers are to be delivered to the German Space Agencyat DLR by October 31st, 2021.
JOHANNESBURG — German launch startup Isar Aerospace has signed a contract with OroraTech to launch the company’s wildfire monitoring cubesat constellation.Isar Aerospace is developing its two-stage Spectrum rocket to launch payloads of up to 700 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit. The maiden flight of Spectrum is currently slated for the second half of 2022.Under the contract announced Sept. 7, Isar Aerospace will conduct multiple Spectrum launches to deploy more than 10 OroraTech cubesats into sun-synchronous orbit between 2022 and 2026. OroraTech will also retain the option for additional flights to launch its full constellation of several hundred cubesats aboard Spectrum missions.
April 2021 forecast: "second half of 2022" [https://www.startbase.com/news/abflug-ins-all/]July 2021 forecast: "late 2022" [https://sifted.eu/articles/isar-aerospace-exclusive-deal/]Septembre 2021 forecast: "Q3 2022" [https://www.dlr.de/rd/PortalData/28/Resources/dokumente/rr/CSTS_Announcement.pdf]
ESA will support Isar Aerospace with activities covering mission management, customer interactions and preparation to conduct two demonstration flights of Spectrum planned in 2022 and 2023.
ESA Commercial Space Transportation Services Program: Isar Aerospace and German Space Agency at DLR announce payloads for first test flight of Spectrum launch vehicle
Here is an overview of the winners of the first payload tender:The DLR Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center, RSC³, based in the AeroSpace Park at the DLR site in Trauen (Lower Saxony) with its MSAE-OTTERS mission: The primary goal is to develop a small satellite within just nine months. For this, the typical development and provision processes need to be accelerated, from which future satellite developments should benefit.The Technical University Berlin with the CyBEEsat mission: It is a technology demonstration for a miniaturized transceiver that was developed for newly defined frequency bands.The ZfT - Center for Telematics eV from Würzburg with a scientific study of volcanic ash clouds with three small satellites that fly in formation and can thus measure the spatial extent of the clouds.The "Norwegian University of Science and Technology" (NTNU) from Trondheim with the mission "FRAMSat-1": A technology demonstration for a small satellite developed by students with a new star sensor from a Norwegian SME.The "University of Maribor" (Slovenia) with the mission "TRISAT-S", a technology demonstration for a miniaturized transceiver that will enable encrypted communication with several ground stations around the world.
The aim of the TOM project is to monitor volcanic eruptions which affect daily life on earth in various ways (health, harvest or air traffic safety). The main objective is to measure the spatial extent of volcanic ash clouds. For this purpose 3 satellites map the cloud simultaneously from different angles. By post-processing and merging the observations, a 3-dimensional image is generated which provides information about the spatial distribution, height above ground, etc.
Why anyone would take at best a 50% chance of hitting their expensive satellite with a sledge hammer is beyond me! :-)
