Even Porsche... US Space Race Expands to Europe

862 Billion KRW Investment in German Rocket Manufacturing Startup
Bezos and Musk Intensify US-Led Space Competition

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The space race led by U.S. private companies such as Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, has shifted to Europe.

According to CNN and others on the 28th (local time), Porsche SE, the holding company of German automaker Porsche, has decided to invest in the German rocket manufacturing startup Isar Aerospace.

According to reports, Porsche SE will jointly invest $75 million (approximately 86.2 billion KRW) in Isar Aerospace along with venture capital firm HV Capital and Swiss bank Lombard Odier.

Rutz Meschke, head of investment at Porsche SE, explained the decision by saying, "We are investing in a leading rocket manufacturer in Europe," and added, "Flexible and cost-efficient access to space will enable innovation across many industries."

Isar Aerospace is a startup in rocket production and satellite launch, planning its first test launch next year. This marks the expansion of the space race, previously led by U.S. private companies such as Bezos's Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX, into Europe.

Earlier, SpaceX launched 88 satellites on a single spacecraft last month. On the same day, British billionaire Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Galactic, also launched satellites from the U.S. Department of Defense, Polish startup SatRevolution, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force into Earth's orbit.

Foreign media expect that as satellite technology becomes increasingly relied upon for running software applications, demand for launching small satellites will significantly increase in the future.

In a statement, Isar Aerospace said, "This funding will allow us to invest more in launches, testing, and infrastructure manufacturing," adding, "Space will become a core technology platform in many industries including automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), communication fields such as data encryption and storage, smart agriculture, and climate change monitoring and tracking."

According to Isar Aerospace, the space launch service market is expected to reach $35 billion (approximately 40 trillion KRW) by 2027, with the small and medium-sized satellite market targeted by Isar accounting for about one-third of that share.