Spain's BLD Space canceled the test launch of its reusable Miura 1 rocket into space at the last minute, early Saturday, marking the latest setback for European attempts to develop the continent's capabilities to send small payloads into space.
Pictures showed the cancellation of the launch in Huelva, southwestern Spain, after the countdown reached zero, with flames and smoke erupting briefly from the launch pad.
"99.9 percent of the procedures succeeded. Launching a missile is very difficult, but we are getting closer and closer. We will try harder again," Raul Torres, CEO and co-founder of the company, said in a statement. The company said the launch was halted due to a cable release error.
Europe and space
- The mission to launch from a military space research center was the first of its kind in Western Europe.
- Europe's efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space have become a major focus, after Virgin Orbit's failure to launch a rocket into orbit from British soil in January.
- The "Miura 1" rocket, produced by BLD Space, is named after a breed of fighting bulls. It is the equivalent of a 3-storey building, has a cargo capacity of 100 kilograms, and can also be used to conduct zero-gravity experiments.
- An earlier attempt at a test launch in late May was delayed due to strong high-altitude winds.
- The setback came hours after the final launch of Europe's largest space rocket, Ariane 5, from Kourou in French Guiana was delayed.
- The operator, "Ariane Space", said that it had discovered a problem with one of the basic functions of the rocket and decided to postpone the launch.
- She added via Twitter that analyzes are underway to determine a new launch date.
- With the end of the operation of the "Ariane 5" missile, Europe remains without an independent mechanism to reach space for several months, after the operation of the "Ariane 6" missile was postponed.
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