Rocket Falls in Icy Wasteland, Explodes in Epic Fireball
A rocket by German startup Isar Aerospace tore into the sky over Norway's Arctic Andoeya Spaceport, a European launch base for small satellites, over the weekend — only to plummet back down to the ground, exploding in a dramatic fireball.
Fortunately, while the spaceport's "crisis management" was triggered, nobody was hurt.
As Reuters reports, the rocket, dubbed Spectrum, was meant to kick off Europe's efforts to keep up with steep international competition when it comes to launching satellites into orbit. The company says it's the first rocket designed for orbital flight that has ever been launched from continental Europe, excluding Russia.
Elon Musk's SpaceX, in particular, has made major headwinds in establishing a massive constellation of Starlink satellites.
"Europe urgently needs to ensure its sovereignty in space," said Marie-Christine von Hahn, managing director of Germany's BDLI aerospace industries association, in a statement, as quoted by Reuters. "Elon Musk's Starlink is not without alternatives — nor should it be."
https://twitter.com/spacecoastwest/status/1906297425062428674
While the launch may have resulted in an epic fireball — in glorious footage of a rocket exploding in front of gorgeous, snow-covered mountains — Isar Aerospace claims it was an important step in the right direction.
"With this test flight, we were able to successfully gather valuable data and experience for future missions," the company tweeted. "Thanks to strict safety procedures from both Isar Aerospace and Andøya Spaceport, all personnel remained safe at all times."
"Isar Aerospace met its set goals: After ignition of its first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off," the company wrote in a statement, "for its first test flight lasting approximately 30 seconds. This allowed the company to gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions."
It's a particularly noteworthy development, given Europe's broader goals of reducing its dependence on the United States, particularly when it comes to security.
"We will be able to serve customers from around the world to bring their satellites into space and to help Europe solve a major blind spot in its security architecture: access to space," said Isar Aerospace CEO and cofounder Daniel Metzler in a statement.
"Launch, learn, repeat," the company wrote, echoing SpaceX's iterative design methodology.
More on Starlink: It Looks an Awful Lot Like Elon Musk Is Awarding a Huge Government Contract to Himself
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