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.

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

A test rocket developed by a German start-up crashed into the sea about half a minute after taking off from Norway on March 30. Though the rocket, called Spectrum, did not reach space, the test marks the first orbital flight outside of Russia launched from continental Europe.