Orbital rocket crashes seconds after launch in historic European spaceport test VIDEO

A German start-up’s orbital rocket tragically crashed just seconds after liftoff on March 30, marking a rare and historic European test flight.

Despite the failure, the company behind the rocket, Isar Aerospace, emphasized that the mission had achieved its set goals, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The flight took place at a spaceport in northern Norway, marking the first-ever launch of a rocket capable of reaching orbit from continental Europe, excluding Russia. The rocket, named Spectrum, was airborne for only about 30 seconds before plummeting into the chilly waters of the Norwegian Sea.

Isar Aerospace, a new player in the rapidly growing space industry, is racing against other European start-ups to carve out a niche in the global space market, which is currently dominated by companies and government agencies from the United States and China.

Despite the rocket's short flight, Isar Aerospace framed the mission as a success. The company issued a statement saying, "Isar Aerospace met its set goals: After ignition of its first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off… for its first test flight lasting approximately 30 seconds. This allowed the company to gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions."

Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, expressed pride in the milestone. "As a company with European roots, we are proud to have shown that Europe has an enduring capacity for bold thinking and grand achievements. We will be able to serve customers from around the world to bring their satellites into space and to help Europe solve a major blind spot in its security architecture: access to space."

While companies such as the French-run ArianeGroup and the European Space Agency have previously launched rockets into orbit, these missions have typically been conducted from spaceports outside of Europe, particularly in the Americas. In contrast, Isar Aerospace's test flight marked a significant step in the development of Europe’s space capabilities.

However, Europe has historically lagged behind in both the original space race of the 1960s and 1970s and the more recent surge by commercial firms to reach orbit. With leaders like Elon Musk’s SpaceX dominating the current space race, European companies like Isar Aerospace are aiming to close the gap and claim their stake in the future of space exploration.

By Vafa Guliyeva