The rocket, developed by Isar Aerospace, lifted off from Norway’s Andøya Space Center and crashed about 30 seconds later. The test flight was part of efforts to make Europe a center for private satellite launches.

Even before Spectrum's first test launch, Isar has already secured a launch contract to fly the new rocket's first commercial missions. The company announced a deal with the Norwegian Space Agency on March 12 for Isar to launch the Arctic Ocean Surveillance (AOS) program satellites by 2028.

A German start-up’s orbital rocket spun out and crashed seconds after take-off Sunday, in a rare European test flight that the makers said “met its set goals.”