The European market’s first attempt to catch up with the satellite launch industry ended in a giant explosion off the coast of Norway, where a German-made rocket crashed and burned.
German startup Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from the Andoya spaceport on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. ET for its first test flight. The rocket successfully lifted off from the launch pad and spent about 30 seconds in the air before it began to fall back toward the Arctic Ocean, creating a huge fireball over the water.
The company later reported that the flight was aborted shortly after takeoff, and the launch vehicle fell into the sea in a controlled manner. “Our first test flight met all of our expectations, achieving great success,” Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, said in an emailed statement. “We achieved a clean takeoff, 30 seconds of flight time, and were even able to test our flight termination system. We have demonstrated that we can not only design and build, but also launch rockets.”
With this launch, Isar became the first European space company to launch an orbital rocket from continental Europe. Its Spectrum rocket is designed to put small and medium-sized satellites into orbit, and Germany is one of several European countries hoping to join the growing global satellite launch industry. Currently, the industry is dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX with its workhorse, the Falcon 9 rocket, which has launched more than 400 times in the past 15 years. The French company Arianespace also launches satellites, but uses a spaceport in French Guiana, South America.
European countries are struggling to keep up with the commercial space industry, with few launch vehicle options. After severing ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent loss of access to Soyuz rockets, the European market was eagerly awaiting the debut of Arianespace’s Ariane 6 as Europe’s next-generation launch vehicle. Ariane 6 experienced numerous delays before finally making its maiden flight in June 2024. However, it still wasn’t perfect, as the rocket’s second stage failed to climb and put its two payloads into orbit. The rocket redeemed itself earlier this year by launching a high-resolution reconnaissance satellite in March.
Obviously, the rocket business is tough. However, Isar Aerospace hasn’t stopped because of its less-than-perfect launch. The company is already planning the second and third launches of the Spectrum rocket, while analyzing the data collected during the first flight to determine the root cause of the fatal anomaly.
“Today we have laid the foundation for meeting the growing global demand for flexible satellite launch services. Now it’s time to analyze all the data, learn, repeat and get back to the launch pad as soon as possible,” Metzler said.
