Before this launch on Sunday, Isar Space had stated that it had little hope of reaching orbit on its first attempt.

The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off on Sunday, in a closely watched test for the continent's bid to

Germany-based Isar Aerospace attempted to launch the first orbital rocket from European soil on Sunday morning (March 30). The company's Spectrum rocket lifted off from Europe's Andøya Spaceport in Norway, but suffered an anomaly 18 seconds into the flight.