The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed after flying for less than 30 seconds yesterday.
The live-streamed launch attracted which attracted hundreds of thousands of views was seen as a key milestone for Europe’s space sector in its bid to develop its own commercial orbital launch capability.
Munich, Germany-based startup Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket first stage successfully ignited, propelling it clear of the launch pad at Andøya Spaceport, Norway at 12:30 PM CEST. Smoke can be seen from the rocket’s sides, before it crashes into the sea and explodes.
The launch was repeatedly postponed due to poor weather conditions and Isar Aerospace had previously said it did not aim to reach orbit with the first test flight.
The two-stage Spectrum rocket is 28m (92ft) tall, has a 2m (6ft) diameter rocket and a 1 tonne carrying capacity. The rocket was unloaded for the test flight.
“Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success. We had a clean lift-off, 30 seconds of flight and got to validate our Flight Termination System,” said Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace. “We feel confident to approach our second flight.”
Metlzer said, “We laid the foundation to cater to the rising global demand for flexible satellite launch services. Now it’s time to analyze all data, learn, iterate and be back on the launch pad as soon as possible.
“With our services, 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.”
The test flight was the first launch of an orbital vehicle from the European continent excluding Russia.
Engineers will analyze the data and results from the first test flight to determine the root cause and iterate the systems of its Spectrum launch vehicle for future missions, said Isar Aerospace.
European orbital access
Unlike in the USA, which has SpaceX and Blue Origin, European access to space has been limited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and delays to the Ariane 6 rocket, which made its first commercial flight after a four year delay.
However, there are several startups developing rockets as well as spaceports opening across Europe, vying to be first to the market to provide commercial space launches for satellites. These include Germany’s HyImpulse and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) as well as Isar Aerospace and the Saxavord Spaceport in the Shetland Isles, UK.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General said, “A test-flight is exactly that – a test to gather data, learn and improve. Everything Isar Aerospace achieved today is remarkable and they will have lots of data to analyse. I am confident that we will see the next Spectrum on the launch pad ready for test-flight 2 liftoff soon.”
