The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed just seconds after lift-off on Sunday, marking a significant moment in the continent's ambitions to build a new space economy.
The Spectrum rocket, developed by the German start-up Isar Aerospace, experienced problems shortly after its launch from Norway’s Andoya Spaceport in the Arctic. The rocket emitted smoke from its sides before plunging back to Earth, exploding upon impact. The entire incident was broadcast live on YouTube.
Isar Aerospace, which had stated that it did not expect to reach orbit with the launch, confirmed that the two-stage rocket fell into the sea. “The launch pad seems to be intact,” the company reported. Meanwhile, Andoya Space, the Norwegian public firm operating the spaceport, activated "crisis response" measures following the incident. Regional police confirmed that no injuries or damage beyond the rocket itself had been reported.
Orbital rockets are designed to transport satellites and other loads into or beyond Earth's orbit. Despite the crash, Isar Aerospace expressed optimism about the data gathered from the test flight. “Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success. We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our Flight Termination System,” said Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace.
The Spectrum rocket, measuring 28 metres in height and 2 metres in diameter, has a one-tonne carrying capacity, although it was not carrying any payload for the test flight. Two additional Spectrum rockets are already in development, the company revealed.
The launch marked Europe’s first attempt at an orbital launch vehicle, excluding Russia, and was the first such launch funded almost entirely by the private sector. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck hailed the event as an important milestone, stating, “Today is an important day for German and European space travel. Isar Aerospace can and will make a decisive contribution to securing Europe’s independent access to space.”
In 2023, a previous European orbital launch attempt was made by Virgin Orbit, the company founded by Richard Branson. The company’s attempt to use a Boeing 747 to launch a rocket into orbit from southwest England ended in failure, leading to the company's closure.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe has lost access to Russian space stations and launchers, which has exacerbated the continent’s challenges in space exploration. Furthermore, delays in the development of the Ariane 6 rocket and the suspension of the Vega-C satellite launcher after an accident have further hindered Europe’s space ambitions. However, Europe regained launch independence on March 6 with the first commercial flight of an Ariane 6 rocket from French Guiana.
In contrast to the US, which boasts companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Europe’s commercial space activities, driven by private companies, are still in their infancy. Isar Aerospace, founded in 2018 in Munich, is one of several companies vying to establish a foothold in this burgeoning industry. Others include Germany’s HyImpulse, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), France’s Latitude and MaiaSpace, and Spain’s PLD Space.
The launch, despite its failure, provided valuable data. “Tons of data that the teams can now evaluate and learn from,” said an Isar Aerospace commentator during the live stream. Alongside the development of new rockets, several spaceport projects are emerging across Europe, from the Portuguese Azores to the British Shetland Islands, Norway’s Andoya, and Esrange in Sweden, all competing to be the first to successfully launch from European soil.
