A rocket developed by a German private space enterprise crashed and exploded shortly after its launch at Andøya Space Center in Norway on March 30, according to the center's operator, Andøya Space. No casualties were reported.
The rocket, named "Spectrum", took off at 12:30 local time (18:30 Beijing time) on the 30th. However, it suddenly tilted shortly after liftoff and then crashed to the ground and exploded. Video footage showed that the rocket crashed on the ground not far from the launch pad and quickly caught fire.
Andøya Space said the rocket was in the air for about 30 seconds. The company has activated its crisis response mechanism and is jointly investigating the cause of the accident with the rocket manufacturer, Isar Aerospace Technologies from Germany.
This launch was the first test flight of Isar Aerospace Technologies' "Spectrum" rocket, which was originally scheduled for March 24 but was postponed due to bad weather. The "Spectrum" rocket is about 28 meters tall and 2 meters in diameter. It is a small - to - medium - sized launch vehicle capable of sending about 1 ton of payload into low - Earth orbit.
