A test rocket aimed at kickstarting satellite launches from Europe fell to the ground and exploded 40 seconds after takeoff from a Norwegian space port on Sunday, in what German startup Isar Aerospace had described as an initial test.

Isar described the incident as a controlled shutdown, however, noting that significant data was recovered from the launch test and that the launch pad remained intact despite the nearby explosion.The Spectrum rocket is a design Isar Aerospace has been working on for the past seven years,

The unmanned Spectrum rocket, an orbital rocket developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, crashed and exploded 40 seconds after takeoff.