The first European launch of a Spectrum rocket ended in failure

The launch of the Spectrum rocket, built by German company Isar Aerospace, took place at the Annøya spaceport in Norway. During a broadcast on Sunday, smoke could be seen billowing from the rocket's body moments after liftoff before it fell and exploded, Phys.org reported.

Isar Aerospace warned in advance that reaching orbit on the first launch was not a mandatory outcome. The company noted that the rocket fell into the sea and the launch pad remained unharmed. The spaceport operator, Andoya Space, confirmed emergency response protocols had been put in place, with police saying there were no injuries or damage apart from the destruction of the rocket itself.

Despite the accident, company founder Daniel Metzler called the launch a success, pointing out that it was possible to test the emergency termination system, and said he intends to make the necessary adjustments. Two more Spectrum rockets are already in development.

Spectrum is a two-stage rocket with a height of 28 metres and a diameter of 2 metres, capable of carrying up to one tonne of cargo into orbit. During the test launch, it launched without a payload.

This event was the first launch of an orbital rocket from continental Europe (excluding Russia) and the first European project of its kind to be almost entirely financed by private capital.

European space programmes have faced serious difficulties since the outbreak of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2022, including the termination of cooperation with Russian space operators. There have also been delays in the development of the Ariane 6 rocket and problems launching satellites on the Vega-C rocket. The first successful commercial launch of Ariane 6 took place only recently, on 6 March this year.

Isar Aerospace, founded in 2018 in Munich, is among the new European companies trying to compete with giants such as Ilon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. In addition to Isar Aerospace, other startups in the race include Germany's HyImpulse and Rocket Factory Augsburg, France's Latitude and MaiaSpace, and Spain's PLD Space.

In the near future, the company's experts will study the data obtained in detail to improve the rocket design and prepare for the next tests.