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.

The unmanned Spectrum rocket, an orbital rocket developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, crashed and exploded 40 seconds after takeoff.

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.”