After more than a week of mostly weather-related delays, Norway’s Andøya Spaceport and the German firm Isar Aerospace could finally try launching a rocket on Sunday. Their goal is to send satellites into orbit and the rocket reached an elevation of a few hundred meters, before the test was halted and it crashed back down into the sea.
Officials at both Andøya Spaceport and Isar were insisting, however, that their launch attempt was still a success. Isar founder and chief executive Daniel Metzler stressed that it was a “test flight” of what Isar calls “an orbital launch vehicle,” and that it met “all our expectations.” He even called it “a great success.”
Both ignition and lift-off were achieved, Isar noted. What others have been calling Isar’s “rocket” named “Spectrum” also cleared the launch pad. Then Isar decided to terminate the launch, the reasons for which were not immediately clear. Metzler also claimed to be happy about the termination.
“We had a clean lift-off, 30 seconds of flight and even got to validate our flight termination system,” Metzler stated. “We demonstrated that we can not only design and build but also launch rockets.” In his view, he added, “we laid the foundation to cater to the rising global demand for flexible launch services.”
That’s important for all those at Andøya Spaceport, Norway’s only site for launching satellites. Andøya Space, which owns the spaceport on the Arctic coast just south of the town of Andenes, is 90 percent-owned by the Norwegian state and been under development for years.
It’s no coincidence that the other 10 percent of Andøya Space is owned by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, which also has tested its successful ground-to-air NASAMS missile defense systems there. Andenes itself has long had strong ties to the Norwegian military and NATO, and managed to survive as a large base for military aircraft after nearly being shut down eight years ago.
Andøya Spaceport’s rocket-launching plans won funding five years ago and it’s keen to be used as a launch site for commercial players, too. It’s widely viewed as an ideal location, given its otherwise relatively remote location adjacent to an enormous area of open sea where rockets would not fly over other countries. It’s so far north that satellites can be placed into a polar orbit around the earth, while the area also offers a nearby airport and guest facilities in Andenes, a scenic area that’s attracting more visitors.
That’s important for partners like Munich-based Isar, which publicly thanked Norway and especially Andøya Space for its cooperation in creating the first orbital launch site in Europe. Isar Aerospace recently won a contract from the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) to launch NOSA’s Arctic Ocean Surveillance program satellites. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (Luftfartstilsynet) is also the first such regulatory agency in Europe to grant a launching license for Sunday’s test flight.
There were no satellites on board the rocket launched in the test flight, simply because it was a test. While the sight of it crashing back down to sea shortly after lift-off can look like a failure, Andøya Spaceport officials were also pleased. “It flew quite a long way and was therefore a successful test for our part,” Jon Harr, director of operations at Andøya Spaceport, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “All of our procedures and systems functioned according to plan.”
NRK’s own expert commentator, Hallvard Sandberg, also thinks it went quite well even though the rocket itself exploded when it crashed into the sea. The crash occurred within the specified control area and police confirmed that no one was injured nor was there any damage to other infrastructure at the launch site.
Isar officials were clear about their plans for another launching test: “Now it’s time to analyze all data, learn,” said Isar CEO Metzler, “and be back on the launch pad as soon as possible.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund