Germany's Spectrum rocket turned into a fireball...
On march 30, 2025, the Spectrum rocket of German space company Isar Aerospace failed in its first flight. This rocket was launched from Andoya Spaceport in Norway, but just 18 seconds after the launch, the rocket suffered a serious technical fault, due to which it went out of control and eventually exploded.
According to the information received so far, the vector control system of the rocket did not work properly, due to which it became difficult to control the speed and direction of the rocket. After this, the engine power in the rocket also stopped and finally the flight was terminated. During this, the rocket burned down with a huge explosion while falling to the ground.
The main objective of the mission was to collect data
There was no payload i.e. satellite in this test mission. The main objective of Isar Aerospace was to collect data about the performance of the rocket. Such failures also help to gather new information for a mission, which is necessary to perform better in the future.
Europe's first orbital rocket launch
This launch was a historic step for europe as it was the first launch of an orbital rocket from Andoya Spaceport. Although this mission was unsuccessful, it has still indicated a new direction for european space agencies.
Isar Aerospace's hopes remain
Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler said that the data obtained from this mission is very important and it has confirmed many important systems of the rocket like the flight termination system. He said that despite this failure, the company will make further improvements in future missions.
The Spectrum rocket was designed to send small to medium-sized satellites into low Earth orbit. The company has also secured a contract from the Norwegian Space Agency for the launch of several satellites by 2028, which keeps the hopes of successful launch of this rocket alive in the future.
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