March 24 (UPI) -- The first-ever launch of the German Isar Aerospace company's Spectrum two-stage rocket was scrubbed Monday due to weather conditions.
The test-flight rocket was loaded with the necessary liquid oxygen and liquid propane fuels and in countdown mode in preparation for takeoff from the Orbital Launch Pad at the Andoya Space Center in Norway. The launch window was set for between 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. local time.
However, in an X post about 1:30 p.m., Isar announced that the test flight had been cancelled due to "unfavorable winds" and the company began to determine a new launch window.
The NSF website reported that the mission, dubbed Going Full Spectrum, is intended to test the aerospace company's Spectrum launch vehicle, which has been designed to carry small and medium-sized satellites into orbit.
The rocket can as much as 2,200 pounds into low-Earth orbit and 1,500 pounds into a sun-synchronous orbit, the latter of which is described by the European Space Agency as "a particular kind of polar orbit in which satellites are in sync with the Sun."
Once a new launch date has been established, Spectrum will fly via a northwest trajectory over the Norwegian Sea, which if successful would help set a path for future launches that could carry customer payloads and bolster the European space industry.
It would also be the first successful orbital launch from continental Europe.
The site at Andoya is anticipated to hold as many as 30 orbital launches every year.