The Germany company's first Spectrum rocket lifted off Sunday morning (March 30) from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway on the first-ever orbital launch attempt from European soil.

A first-of-its-kind European rocket launch ended in the Norwegian Sea when Isar Aerospace's unmanned rocket exploded just 40 seconds after takeoff.

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.