Isar Aerospace completes first orbital launch vehicle test flight in Norway

European private aerospace startup Isar Aerospace successfully completed the first test flight of its Spectrum rocket, despite the rocket crashing to the ground 30 seconds after launch on Sunday.

Isar Aerospace, a German startup based in Munich, launched the rocket from the island of Andøya in northern Norway. The rocket took off from the platform at 12:30 pm and flew for about 30 seconds before flipping over and falling back to the ground, causing a powerful explosion.

The Spectrum is a 28 metre-long, two-stage rocket specifically designed to place small and medium-sized satellites into orbit.

This marks the first attempt to launch a satellite rocket from continental Europe.

"Our first test flight met all our expectations and was a great success," said Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar, in a press release. "We had a clean takeoff, 30 seconds of flight, and we were also able to validate our Flight Termination System."

The launch was subject to various factors, including weather and safety conditions, and Sunday's takeoff followed a week of adverse conditions that delayed the test last Monday and Saturday due to the weather.

The company had widely ruled out the possibility of the rocket reaching orbit on its first full flight, stating that it would consider a 30-second flight a success.

Isar Aerospace aims to gather as much data and experience as possible during the first integrated test of all systems on its in-house developed launch vehicle.

Isar Aerospace is separate from the European Space Agency (ESA), which is funded by its 23 member states.

The ESA has been launching rockets and satellites into orbit for years, but primarily from French Guiana and Cape Canaveral in Florida. This latest attempt therefore marked the first attempt to launch a satellite rocket from within Europe.