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

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.

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.