German Rocket Falls After Launch

The launch of Germany's first carrier rocket, Spectrum, ended in failure.

The 28-meter rocket, with a diameter of 2 meters, was designed to deploy small and medium-sized satellites into solar-synchronous and low Earth orbits. The project aimed to usher in a new era of satellite launches from Western Europe.

The rocket was launched from the Norwegian spaceport Andøya. However, just seconds after liftoff, Spectrum crashed into the sea despite all calculations. The manufacturer quickly reassured the public that no company has successfully launched its first rocket into orbit thus far, and that the purpose of the test flight was to gather data.

The cost of the failed project was 400 million euros, partially funded by the German government and the European Union.