Isar Aerospace, which had warned that the initial launch could end prematurely, said the test produced extensive data that its team can learn from.

A rocket built by German startup Isar Aerospace flew for half a minute before the flight was terminated in its first attempt to reach orbit on Sunday, part of an endeavor to make Europe less reliant on the US for private satellite launches.

German startup Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from the Andøya spaceport on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. ET for its first test flight. The rocket successfully lifted off from its launchpad and spent around 30 seconds in the air before it started falling back down toward the Arctic Ocean,