The first attempt at an orbital launch from Europe has failed. The Spectrum light launch vehicle, built by the German company Isar Aerospace, crashed after launch from the Norwegian spaceport of Anneya.
The launch took place at 13:30 Kyiv time, but after 30 seconds of flight the rocket began to wobble, lost orientation and its engines were turned off. The launch vehicle fell into the ocean near the Anneya Cosmodrome and exploded. The launch complex was apparently not damaged. The launch broadcast recording is below, the launch takes place at the mark 33:50
Isar Aerospace is a German space company headquartered in Munich. The Isar is the name of a river flowing through Bavaria. Since 2018, the company has been developing a lightweight launch vehicle, the Spectrum, which will be capable of launching payloads weighing up to 1,000 kg into low-Earth orbit. The first stage of the Spectrum is equipped with 9 Aquila engines (propane-oxygen steam) developed by Isar Aerospace, the second stage has one Aquila engine.
In April 2021, Isar Aerospace signed a twenty-year contract for the exclusive lease of one of the launch pads at the Norwegian spaceport Andøya Space, located on the island of Andøya in the Vesterød archipelago in northern Norway. The Andøya Space site has been used for meteorological and suborbital rocket launches since 1962. It seems that the Andøya spaceport may compete with the Mahia spaceport (New Zealand) for the title of the most beautiful launch pad on planet Earth.
The second possible launch site for Spectrum rockets is the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana.
Despite the accident, Isar Aerospace considers the launch a success. According to the developers, the test flight allowed the company to collect valuable data and gain experience for future missions.