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.

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.

Rocket start-up Isar Aerospace has become the first company to attempt a vertical launch into orbit from western Europe, but its two-stage Spectrum launcher pitched over and crashed back to earth within seconds of lift-off.