European orbital rocket crashes after launch

The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, in a closely watched test for the continent's bid to build a new space economy.

The Spectrum rocket, developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, started smoking from its sides, then crashed back to Earth with a powerful explosion just after launching from Norway's Andoya Spaceport in the Arctic, in live video broadcast on YouTube.

Isar Aerospace, which had said it did not expect to reach orbit with the launch, said the two-stage rocket fell into the sea, adding that "the launch pad seems to be intact". Andoya Space, the Norwegian public firm that operates the spaceport, said "crisis response" measures had been activated following the "incident".

Regional police said no injuries or damage beyond the rocket itself had been reported. Orbital rockets are designed to place loads such as satellites into or beyond Earth's orbit.