Isar Aerospace's Spectrum Rocket: First European Orbital Launch Attempt Ends in Failure

Historic European Launch Attempt

• 🚀 Isar Aerospace made the first orbital launch attempt from European soil with their Spectrum rocket, launching from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway.
• ⚠️ Despite a successful vertical liftoff, the rocket experienced issues shortly after ascent, leading to a loss of control.

Analysis of the Anomaly

• 📈 The exhaust plume from the rocket's thrust vectoring system showed significant wobbling, indicating the rocket was attempting to steer itself.
• ⚠️ This steering control appears to have entered an oscillation, causing the rocket to pitch over.
• 💥 The engines were shut down, and the rocket ultimately crashed into the water a few hundred meters from the launch site.

Rocket Specifications and Design

• 💡 The Spectrum rocket is 28 meters long, constructed from carbon fiber composite, and designed to carry approximately one ton into orbit.
• 🔥 It utilizes nine Aquilla engines with a gas generator cycle, using propane and liquid oxygen as propellants.
• 🧩 The video debunks theories about roll control thrusters, suggesting the observed phenomena were related to engine gimbals and steering.

Altitude and Trajectory

• 📏 By analyzing the fall time and a nearby mountain's height, the rocket is estimated to have reached an altitude of approximately 500 meters.
• 🛰️ The launch infrastructure at the spaceport appears to have survived the event largely undamaged.

Potential Causes and Future Outlook

• 🧠 The loss of control is suspected to be a software or guidance issue, possibly due to over-steering or incorrect inputs from the guidance system.
• ⚠️ It's also speculated that a roll sensor might have been inverted, or that unexpected vehicle dynamics, not fully captured in simulations, contributed to the problem.
• ✅ Isar Aerospace will need to build a new rocket and address the identified issues to achieve a successful orbital launch in the future.