On 5 September, the Spectrum launch vehicle built by the German company Isar Aerospace lifted off from Andøya Spaceport in Norway, reached Earth orbit and deployed its satellites. It is the first time a private European company has delivered a payload to orbit using a launch vehicle of its own design, and also the first orbital launch from continental Europe. The mission was co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), of which Latvia has been an Associate Member since 2020.
