Private European space company Isar Aerospace sent its Spectrum rocket soaring from Andøya, Norway, on Sunday in the inaugural test flight of its orbital launch vehicle. The 28-meter, two-stage rocket, which is intended to launch small and medium satellites into orbit, took off at 12:30 PM (1030 GMT) but plunged into the sea 30 seconds later after the flight was intentionally aborted.

Although the flight lasted only a short time, Isar Aerospace considered the mission a success, focusing on the important data and experience acquired during flight. "This enabled the company to accumulate a large quantity of flight data and experience upon which to base future missions," the company explained. The launch vehicle splashed down in the ocean after being shut down, under control.

Video shots showed the rocket climbing before plummeting and crashing into the ocean in a blaze of flames. The launch was postponed because of bad weather, with a scrubbed effort on March 24 and another cancellation on Saturday.

Our initial test flight exceeded all our expectations, with tremendous success," declared Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace. "We had a clean launch, 30 seconds of flight, and even got to confirm our Flight Termination System.

Isar Aerospace had not hoped that the rocket would fly to orbit on its maiden flight and had established a 30-second mission duration as one of the main milestones. The company's main purpose was to test its self developed systems and collect essential data for subsequent missions.