Isar Aerospace Co-Founder Josef Fleischmann launches Bavaria Instruments, Can Araz named CTO
Munich, 21 September 2026 – Isar Aerospace and Bavaria Instruments jointly announce today that Co-Founder Josef Fleischmann is handing over his operational responsibilities at Isar Aerospace to found Bavaria Instruments. The new company is built around the mission to develop and commercialize strategic space capabilities beyond launch at the speed and scale the market and Europe’s sovereignty require. While Isar Aerospace is leading the way in delivering access to space at industrial scale for Europe, Bavaria Instruments will focus on developing in-orbit computing technologies. These capabilities will enable the next generation of space capabilities such as real-time Earth observation and spacecraft that operate autonomously and work together in orbit.
Can Araz, with Isar Aerospace’s since its founding and most recently Vice President ‘Spectrum’, will assume his responsibilities as Chief Technology Officer. Patrick Adcock, Vice President Global Operations, will lead the continued scaling of production.
From a university project to Continental Europe’s first commercial launch company to successfully deliver satellites to orbit, Isar Aerospace has become one of Europe’s most critical space assets. Together with the team, Isar Aerospace co-founders Josef Fleischmann and Daniel Metzler developed Spectrum from scratch into orbit-ready launch vehicle at the speed the market demands. As COO and CTO Josef was instrumental in contributing to the company’s engineering and production capabilities, helping establish a unique and scalable in-house manufacturing and test infrastructure in Germany and Sweden and laying the groundwork for a multinational launch network starting in Norway and Canada.
Josef Fleischmann, Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace and Founder of Bavaria Instruments, said: “At Isar Aerospace, we proved that world-class engineering can be scaled into real capability. Now we need to turn more breakthrough technologies into products, businesses, and impact. Europe must move faster and commercialize sooner. With Bavaria Instruments, I am continuing that mission. I am equally excited to see Can take on the role of CTO. Having helped build our technology from day one, he combines deep technical expertise with a unique understanding of our systems and is exceptionally well positioned to lead our technology and engineering organization into its next phase.”
Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace, said: “In just a few years, we built a launch company from scratch, from a rocket engine project into Continental Europe’s first successful launch delivering payloads into orbit. Josef’s drive and builder mindset have been instrumental throughout that journey. As he takes on a new challenge, we remain united by the same mission of strengthening the space ecosystem. At Isar Aerospace, Can is the right leader to guide our engineering organization through its next phase of growth.”
Bulent Altan, Chairman of Isar Aerospace, said: “With Spectrum orbital and Isar Aerospace entering its next phase, now is the right time for Josef to do what he does best: building what others are just blueprinting. His move reflects the growing maturity of Europe’s space economy. The strongest ecosystems are powered by founders who build, scale, and then do it again. Europe’s future in space will be built by many companies, and Josef is set to spearhead another one."
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About Isar Aerospace
The European space company Isar Aerospace offers launch services for transporting small and medium-sized satellites and satellite constellations into orbit. The launch vehicles used to transport these satellites are developed, manufactured, and tested almost entirely in-house. Headquartered near Munich, Germany, Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and has grown to over 400 employees, working across 5 international locations. Private funding from international investors provides strong backing for the company’s pioneering approach to scale and industrialize launch vehicle production through vertical integration. More information: www.isaraerospace.com.
About Bavaria Instruments
Bavaria Instruments was founded with the mission of turning Europe's most ambitious deep tech space challenges into market-ready products. The company is initially focused on in-orbit computing technologies, a critical capability for enabling spacecraft and satellites to process data directly in space, accelerate autonomous decision-making, and unlock the next generation of space applications. Further details will be announced soon.
Press Contact Isar Aerospace
Franziska Kegel
[email protected]
Press Contact Bavaria Instruments
[email protected]
