German Rocket Makes Clean Liftoff in Europe’s Space Race

A rocket built by German startup Isar Aerospace flew for half a minute before the flight was terminated in its first attempt to reach orbit on Sunday, part of an endeavor to make Europe less reliant on the US for private satellite launches.

The Spectrum left the launch pad intact, before crashing into the icy surrounds of the Andøya Spaceport in Norway. Had it reached orbit, it would have made Isar the first company to do so from a European spaceport.