The first flight of Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket didn't last long on Sunday. The booster's nine engines switched off as the rocket cartwheeled upside-down and fell a short distance from its Arctic launch pad in Norway, punctuating the abbreviated test flight with a spectacular fiery crash into the sea.

Spectrum lifted off from Norway’s picturesque Andøya Spaceport and cleared the launch pad. But after about 30 seconds, the vehicle activated its flight termination system, shutting down its engines and sending it tumbling nose-down into the sea “in a controlled manner,” Isar said.

The Spectrum rocket is designed to capture a portion of the burgeoning small to medium satellite launch market and give the EU and its European allies a reliable launch vehicle for near-Earth-orbit payloads that is operationally and oversight-distinct from the USA and SpaceX.