The re-introduction of pragmatism in European space — our investment rationale behind Isar Aerospace
We are happy to announce that we jointly led the €15m Series A round into Munich-based startup Isar Aerospace with Airbus Ventures along the participation of the existing Seed shareholders Vito Ventures, UVC Partners and Bulent Altan. It is Earlybird’s first SpaceTech investment and this post serves to outline our investment rationale.
Our investment is based on an outside the box technical approach, the market opportunity to build the European category leader for space launch systems and on a team that does not follow conventional approaches when wanting to fly to space.
The satellite industry is moving from huge single satellites to more and smaller satellite constellations, targeting a range between 100-500kg instead of multiple tons. Currently, small satellites share their ride to orbit with a larger satellite (main customer) that dictates the desired orbit and launch time — clearly to the disadvantage of small satellites. Hence, the need for smaller launch service providers, which offer launches in a higher frequency is evident. Research estimates demand for around 11,750 small satellites for new constellation installations and replacement missions by 2030 (Frost & Sullivan 2018).
Isar Aerospace is developing a fully in-house designed space launch vehicle to perform satellite launch operations, bringing small and medium-sized satellites, especially satellite constellations, into Earth’s orbit and beyond. The approach of the team is based on environmentally friendly propellants that combine high performance and low system complexity, leading to a new era of sustainability in the space industry. This is emphasized through advanced manufacturing that enables complex yet lightweight component design while also reducing part counts drastically, lowering the costs for space access. On top, the two stage rocket features highest reliability by design through engine-out capability, allowing for successful mission completion even in the unlikely event of an engine failure during first stage ascent.
This unique technical approach resonates well with the mindset of the team and presents an approach, which European space players have neglected for some time. If pragmatism got lost in European space, the team around the three co-founders Daniel, Josef and Markus is the answer. When visiting Isar Aerospace for the first time, it became clear that there are around 30 FTE based in Munich not following the conventional rules in engineering, but a group of totally outside the box thinking people. The co-founders have known each other since their undergraduate studies at the Technical University of Munich. All of them joined the renown WARR (German abbreviation for the scientific working group for rocketry and space flight) program, which is directed by Professor Robert Schmucker in Munich. The three co-founders directly took over responsibility within the program: Daniel was a project leader, Markus was a team leader for the propulsion team unit and Josef, apart from winning SpaceX’s first Hyperloop competition, launched sounding rockets across the globe. The company’s mission to build Europe’s category leader in the aforementioned launch system segment is manifested in every employee of the company. We have been infected by each employee’s passion to unconventionally solve difficult problems and find pragmatic work arounds.
Team Isar Aerospace, welcome to the #ebvcgang
To join the team, please see current job offerings here
