European orbital rocket crashes after launch

The Spectrum rocket, developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, started smoking from its sides, then crashed back to Earth with a powerful explosion just after launching from Norway's Andoya Spaceport in the Arctic, in live video broadcast on YouTube.

Isar Aerospace, which had said it did not expect to reach orbit with the launch, said the two-stage rocket fell into the sea, adding that «the launch pad seems to be intact».

Andoya Space, the Norwegian public firm that operates the spaceport, said «crisis response» measures had been activated following the «incident».

Regional police said no injuries or damage beyond the rocket itself had been reported.

Live Events

Orbital rockets are designed to place loads such as satellites into or beyond Earth's orbit.

— 'Great success' -

Ahead of the launch, which had been repeatedly postponed due to weather conditions, Isar Aerospace had downplayed expectations, saying the goal was not to reach orbit in its first attempt.

«Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success. We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our Flight Termination System,» said Daniel Metzler, the firm's co-founder and chief executive.

In an online press conference following the launch, Metzler insisted Isar was «very well positioned» to take advantage of the rocket-to-satellite market, adding that the company would «make the adjustments that are necessary» to the spacecraft.

Two more Spectrum rockets are already in development, the company said.

The 28-metre (92-foot) tall, two-metre diameter rocket has a one-tonne carrying capacity, but was unloaded for the test flight.

Spectrum's blast-off was the first of an orbital launch vehicle from the