First European Private Orbital Rocket Launch Ends in Failure

Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket crashed seconds after liftoff in Norway, but the test flight yielded valuable data for future improvements.

• The Spectrum rocket, developed by German startup Isar Aerospace, lost attitude control approximately 25-30 seconds after liftoff from Andøya Spaceport, crashing and exploding shortly thereafter.
• This marked the first orbital launch attempt from continental Europe (excluding Russia) and was financed almost entirely by the private sector.
• Isar Aerospace emphasized the test flight's success in collecting critical data to refine its systems, despite the vehicle's failure to reach orbit.
• The two-stage rocket, designed to carry small and medium satellites up to one metric tonne, carried no payload during the test flight.
• The launch highlights Europe's growing private space sector and its push for greater space autonomy, supported by initiatives like the European Space Agency's European Launcher Challenge.

15 Articles

European Space Agency The Telegraph Deutsche Welle Metro Breitbart UPI CNA The Guardian SpaceNews Phys.org The Japan Times CBS News Le Monde CNN