German startup's space rocket explodes seconds after takeoff from Norway

Europe urgently needs to ensure its sovereignty in space. Elon Musk's Starlink is not without alternatives - nor should it be,

BDLI Managing Director Marie-Christine von Hahn said in a statement

Josef Aschbachereuropean Space Agency chief

Success to get off the pad, and lots of data already obtained. I am sure @isaraerospace will learn a lot. Rocket launch is hard. Never give up, move forward with even more energy!”

The European Space Agency’s director general, Josef Aschbacher, posted on X

This allowed the company to gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions,

Isar said in a statement

Making this work day after day, with so many actors involved, is demanding,

Harr said

Safety during operational activities is Andoya Spaceport's highest priority,

the company said in a press release

Today's maiden flight has not been launched nominally. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a success,

said Walther Pelzer, executive board member of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and director general of the German Space Agency at DLR

Now it's time to analyze all data, learn, iterate and be back on the launch pad as soon as possible,

he added

We demonstrated that we can not only design and build but also launch rockets,

Metzler said

This test of a highly complex rocket manufactured in Germany has yielded an enormous amount of data that will enable us to make further progress,

she said

Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success,

Daniel Metzler, Isar's chief executive and co-founder, said in a news release

Every second we fly is good because we collect data and experience. Thirty seconds would already be a great success,

Metzler, said ahead of the launch

As a company with European roots, we are proud to have shown that Europe has an enduring capacity for bold thinking and grand achievements,

Daniel Metzler, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said in the statement

We had a clean liftoff, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our Flight Termination System,

Mr. Metzler said

Space has really become a very crucial element in geopolitics, in global insights, and of course, it’s a huge economic opportunity,

said Mr. Metzler

There’s about a million things that can go wrong and only one way things actually go right,

Mr. Metzler, Isar Aerospace’s chief executive, had in a video interview ahead of the launch