{"id":44353,"date":"2025-04-01T20:31:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/the-first-flight-of-isar-aerospaces-spectrum-rocket-lasted-just-40-seconds\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T20:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:31:45","slug":"the-first-flight-of-isar-aerospaces-spectrum-rocket-lasted-just-40-seconds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/the-first-flight-of-isar-aerospaces-spectrum-rocket-lasted-just-40-seconds\/","title":{"rendered":"The first flight of Isar Aerospace\u2019s Spectrum rocket lasted just 40 seconds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first flight of Isar Aerospace\u2019s Spectrum rocket didn\u2019t last long on Sunday. The booster\u2019s nine engines switched off as the rocket cartwheeled upside-down and fell a short distance from its Arctic launch pad in Norway, punctuating the abbreviated test flight with a spectacular fiery crash into the sea.<\/p>\n

If officials at Isar Aerospace were able to pick the outcome of their first test flight, it wouldn\u2019t be this. However, the result has precedent. The first launch of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 1 rocket in 2006 ended in similar fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we know twice as much about our launch system as yesterday before launch,\u201d Daniel Metzler, Isar\u2019s co-founder and CEO, wrote on X early Monday. \u201cCan\u2019t beat flight testing. Ploughing through lots of data now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isar Aerospace, based in Germany, is the first in a crop of new European rocket companies to attempt an orbital launch. If all went according to plan, Isar\u2019s Spectrum rocket would have arced to the north from And\u00f8ya Spaceport in Norway and reached a polar orbit.<\/p>\n

But officials knew there was only a low chance of reaching orbit on the first flight. For this reason, Isar did not fly any customer payloads on the Spectrum rocket, designed to deliver up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of payload mass to low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

Isar Aerospace\u2019s first Spectrum rocket climbs away from And\u00f8ya Spaceport in Norway.<\/p>\n

Credit:
\n Isar Aerospace\/Brady Kenniston\/NASASpaceflight.com<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Duck and cover<\/h2>\n

The launch began with liftoff from And\u00f8ya Spaceport at 12:30 pm local time (6:30 am EDT, or 10:30 UTC). The rocket\u2019s nine engines, burning a mix of liquid propane and liquid oxygen, throttled up to generate more than 150,000 pounds (675 kilonewtons) of thrust as Spectrum began a vertical climb from the launch pad.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

The first visual sign of trouble appeared about 15 seconds later as the 92-foot-tall (28-meter) rocket started to wobble on its axis. The exhaust plume from Spectrum\u2019s main engines also appeared to oscillate, suggesting that the rocket\u2019s steering system was trying to keep it on track.<\/p>\n

After a brief struggle, the rocket lost control and somersaulted, the engines shut down, and the vehicle fell into the sea about 40 seconds after launch. With its propellant tanks nearly full, the rocket\u2019s impact created a brilliant fireball and mushroom cloud over the craggy snow-covered landscape of And\u00f8ya, which means \u201cisland of the ducks\u201d in Norwegian.<\/p>\n

There were no injuries, and Isar said its seaside launch pad was intact following the accident. This was the first orbital launch attempt from a launch pad in Western Europe.<\/p>\n

A livestream of the test flight provided by Isar and its media partner, NASASpaceflight.com, showed the Spectrum rocket as it lifted off and lost control but cut away before impact. The livestream ended a few moments later.<\/p>\n

Within a few hours, Isar and NASASpaceflight released several replays of the launch, including a drone view that captured the entirety of Spectrum\u2019s 40-second flight. This showed a degree of transparency other launch companies should emulate.<\/p>\n

You can watch a replay of the live launch webcast in the YouTube stream embedded here.<\/p>\n