Orbital Rocket Crashes Seconds After Launch in Groundbreaking European Spaceport Test

By Everything interesting about life 
2-minute read
Updated 5:53 PM EDT, Sun March 30, 2025

A German start-up’s orbital rocket failed shortly after takeoff in a significant European test flight on Sunday. Despite the rocket’s crash just moments after launch, Isar Aerospace, the company behind the mission, declared that the test flight achieved its intended objectives.

Launched from a spaceport in northern Norway, the flight marked a historic milestone as it was the first attempt to send a rocket capable of reaching orbit from continental Europe (excluding Russia). The rocket, named Spectrum, was airborne for approximately 30 seconds before it crashed into the cold Norwegian Sea.

Isar Aerospace framed the event as a valuable learning experience, noting that the mission provided essential flight data for future projects. "Isar Aerospace achieved its set goals: After the ignition of the first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off… for its first test flight, which lasted roughly 30 seconds. This allowed us to collect valuable flight data for future missions," the company said in a statement.

CEO Daniel Metzler, who co-founded the company, expressed pride in the achievement. "As a European company, we are proud to demonstrate that Europe still has the ambition and ability to think big. We are now in a position to help our customers worldwide with satellite launches, and we aim to address Europe’s critical need for independent space access,” Metzler stated.

While the European Space Agency (ESA) and other companies, such as ArianeGroup from France, have successfully launched rockets, most of these missions have taken place outside Europe, primarily at spaceports in the Americas. The commercial space race is currently dominated by companies like SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, which has launched hundreds of successful missions into orbit.

Europe has long been a step behind in the space race, both during the initial space exploration era in the 1960s and 1970s and in the more recent surge in private space ventures. However, with startups like Isar Aerospace making strides, there’s renewed optimism about Europe's potential role in future space endeavors.

Sources:

• Isar Aerospace official statement

• European Space Agency website

• SpaceX launch statistics