Latest news with #IsarAerospace
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Spectrum Rocket Crashes Into Sea After Orbital Launch Attempt, Company Calls Test A 'Success'
A highly anticipated test flight aimed at launching satellites from Europe ended in a fiery explosion just seconds after takeoff from Norway Sunday. The uncrewed Spectrum rocket, developed by German startup Isar Aerospace, was billed as Europe's first attempt at an orbital launch from its own soil. The mission was part of a broader push to expand the continent's commercial space industry. The rocket lifted off from Andøya Spaceport, located on a remote Norwegian island that sits nearly 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Launch occurred at 12:30 p.m. local time before the flight was purposefully terminated roughly 30 seconds later, causing the rocket to plunge into the sea in what the company described as a 'controlled manner.' Video footage from the launch shows the Spectrum rocket soaring into the sky before suddenly losing altitude and crashing into the water below in a fiery explosion. Andøya Space, the Norwegian agency operating the launch site, confirmed the launch pad was undamaged in the crash, but that 'crisis response' measures were activated following the incident. Despite the dramatic crash, Isar Aerospace framed the event as a success, stating that the test flight provided 'a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions.' The launch had already been delayed several times due to poor weather conditions, including strong winds and rain, before finally taking off on Sunday. While Europe has long launched rockets from sites in French Guiana and Cape Canaveral, this test was part of a larger effort to establish a homegrown space economy. Despite the perceived setback, Isar Aerospace remains committed to further testing and its longterm goal of making Europe a player in the global satellite launch industry. MORE ON Here's What's Up In April's Night Sky Neptune's Aurora's Captured For First Time Astronauts Return Home After Lengthy Stay In Space
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch a private German rocket explode during 1st orbital launch attempt from European soil (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A dramatic drone video shows Isar Aerospace's first orbital launch attempt, which ended with a fiery crash into the frigid sea about 30 seconds after liftoff. The Germany company's first Spectrum rocket lifted off Sunday morning (March 30) from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway on the first-ever orbital launch attempt from European soil. Spectrum cleared the tower but suffered an anomaly shortly thereafter. The rocket flipped over and slammed into the ocean near the pad, sending an orange-tinted cloud high into a clear Arctic sky, as the video shows. The launch pad and surrounding infrastructure appear to have escaped damage, according to Isar Aerospace. The company accentuated the positive about Spectrum's debut, saying the 95-foot-tall (28 meters) rocket performed quite well overall. "Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success," Isar Aerospace CEO and Co-founder Daniel Metzler said in an emailed statement. "We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our flight termination system." RELATED STORIES: — Europe's 1st continental spaceport is open for business in Norway — A spaceport startup launched the 1st rocket from a floating launch pad in US waters — Nova Scotia spaceport project aims to launch clean-tech rockets European space officials were similarly sanguine. "A test flight is exactly that: a test to gather data, learn and improve," European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a different statement on Sunday. "Everything Isar Aerospace achieved today is remarkable, and they will have lots of data to analyze," he added. "I applaud the teams for getting this far, and I am confident that we will see the next Spectrum on the launch pad ready for test flight 2 liftoff soon."
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Germany's Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of its Spectrum orbital rocket from a spaceport in Norway Sunday, deeming the launch a success even though the rocket crashed into the sea and exploded about 30 seconds after liftoff. Isar is one of a handful of European aerospace startups aiming to create a commercial space industry that can send satellites into orbit from inside continental Europe. Isar said the "terminated" test flight allowed it to "gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions." The European Space Agency has been "launching rockets and satellites into orbit for years, but mainly from French Guiana" and Cape Canaveral in Florida, The Associated Press said. The French-German satellite launch firm ArianeGroup also uses the French Guiana spaceport and Elon Musk's SpaceX launches from the U.S. The Andøya Spaceport, on an island in northern Norway, was built for Isar in 2023. Sweden's Estrange Space Center and Britain's SaxaVord Spaceport are the "nearest rivals to the Norwegian site," Reuters said, and both aim to launch commercial orbital vehicles later this year. "Europe urgently needs to ensure its sovereignty in space," said Marie-Christine von Hahn of German aerospace industries group BDLI. "Elon Musk's Starlink is not without alternatives — nor should it be."
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Falls in Icy Wasteland, Explodes in Epic Fireball
A rocket by German startup Isar Aerospace tore into the sky over Norway's Arctic Andoeya Spaceport, a European launch base for small satellites, over the weekend — only to plummet back down to the ground, exploding in a dramatic fireball. Fortunately, while the spaceport's "crisis management" was triggered, nobody was hurt. As Reuters reports, the rocket, dubbed Spectrum, was meant to kick off Europe's efforts to keep up with steep international competition when it comes to launching satellites into orbit. The company says it's the first rocket designed for orbital flight that has ever been launched from continental Europe, excluding Russia. Elon Musk's SpaceX, in particular, has made major headwinds in establishing a massive constellation of Starlink satellites. "Europe urgently needs to ensure its sovereignty in space," said Marie-Christine von Hahn, managing director of Germany's BDLI aerospace industries association, in a statement, as quoted by Reuters. "Elon Musk's Starlink is not without alternatives — nor should it be." While the launch may have resulted in an epic fireball — in glorious footage of a rocket exploding in front of gorgeous, snow-covered mountains — Isar Aerospace claims it was an important step in the right direction. "With this test flight, we were able to successfully gather valuable data and experience for future missions," the company tweeted. "Thanks to strict safety procedures from both Isar Aerospace and Andøya Spaceport, all personnel remained safe at all times." "Isar Aerospace met its set goals: After ignition of its first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off," the company wrote in a statement, "for its first test flight lasting approximately 30 seconds. This allowed the company to gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions." It's a particularly noteworthy development, given Europe's broader goals of reducing its dependence on the United States, particularly when it comes to security. "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," said Isar Aerospace CEO and cofounder Daniel Metzler in a statement. "Launch, learn, repeat," the company wrote, echoing SpaceX's iterative design methodology. More on Starlink: It Looks an Awful Lot Like Elon Musk Is Awarding a Huge Government Contract to Himself
Japan Times
31-03-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
German startup's space rocket explodes after takeoff from Norway
A test rocket aimed at kickstarting satellite launches from Europe fell to the ground and exploded 40 seconds after takeoff from a Norwegian space port on Sunday, in what German startup Isar Aerospace had described as an initial test. The uncrewed Spectrum rocket was billed as the first attempt at an orbital flight to originate from Europe, where several nations, including Sweden and Britain, have said they want a share of a growing market for commercial space missions. Isar Aerospace, which had warned that the initial launch could end prematurely, said the test produced extensive data that its team can learn from. Blasting off from Norway's Arctic Andoeya Spaceport, the Spectrum is designed for small and medium-sized satellites weighing up to one metric ton, although it did not carry a payload on its maiden voyage. The mission was intended to collect data on the company's in-house developed launch vehicle, in a first integrated test of all its systems, Bavarian Isar Aerospace said last week.
