Failure of Spectrum rocket seconds after blast-off deals blow to continent’s effort to build new space economy

The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off on Sunday, dealing a blow to the continent’s effort to build a new space economy.

The Spectrum rocket, developed by the German startup Isar Aerospace, tilted over and crashed back to Earth with a powerful boom just after launching from Norway’s Andøya spaceport in the Arctic, in live video broadcast on YouTube.