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.

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.”

A test rocket aimed at kick-starting satellite launches from Europe fell to the ground and exploded 40 seconds after its launch from a Norwegian space port.