Continental Europe’s First Orbital Rocket Launch Ends in Crash

The engine trembled about half the local time on Sunday, with a brave roar, and the 92-foot-high spectral rocket slowly lifted from the launch tower, marking the first lift-off of its kind on the continent of Europe.

The rocket launched by ISAR aerospace from within the Arctic Circle on the space column of Andea Island, Norway, was the first orbital flight to leave Europe, a continent other than Russia. Approximately 30 seconds after the rocket cleared the launchpad, it pitched to the side and plunged back to Earth.

But Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace, was cheerful. He said in a statement that the test flight “meeted all our expectations and was a huge success” despite the crash.

“We had a clean lift-off, a 30-second flight and even validated the end-of-flight system,” Metzler said. The rocket fell directly into the sea, the launchpad was not damaged and no one could be hurt when the spacecraft crashed, he added.

Andøya Spaceport could not be immediately contacted for comment. Previously, they posted on social media that “crisis management” was activated after crash and was working with emergency services and ISAR Aerospace.

The test flight was seven years in 2018 for Isar Aerospace’s Making for Isar Aerospace, a German-based company with a mission to make satellite launches more accessible. There are European companies push Beyond space technology and research, we explore the possibilities of the space sector for defense, security and geopolitics.

“There are about a million things that could be wrong, and in reality, only one method can go well,” said Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace, in a video interview before its launch. The team had rescheduled several previous launch attempts, citing unfavourable weather conditions. “Frankly, if we only fly 30 seconds, I’d be happy,” he said at the time.

He said that time would provide the team with a lot of information to analyze and use. And that was the time that mostly had the flights on Sunday.

In the video, Metzler noted that SpaceX, the first private company to launch its own designed rocket into orbit before achieving that milestone in 2008, had failed three attempts.

There are several private companies in Europe design Spaceport for new waves of rockets. Sweden has revamped its old research foundation for its state-of-the-art satellite launch centre north of the Arctic, and the UK has also opened a space centre in Cornwall, far southwest of the UK. However, misfires can be costly. Virgin Orbit, a space company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has finally collapsed after an unsuccessful attempt to launch the rocket into orbit in 2023.

“Space has become a very important component of geopolitics and global insights. Of course, it’s a huge economic opportunity,” Metzler said.

The company was initially supported by former senior Space X executive, Bulent Altan. It was raised Its website has raised more than $430 million in funding from international investors, including securing support from NATO innovation. Fund.

Ali Watkins I contributed to this report.