Spanish startup PLD Space aborted a test launch of its reusable Miura-1 rocket at the last moment early on Saturday, a live webcast showed.

The launch in Huelva in southwest Spain was scrubbed after the countdown had reached zero, with flames and smoke briefly shooting sideways from the launchpad, images showed.

There was no immediate explanation for the shutdown, which appeared to leave the launch vehicle intact.

The suborbital mission from a military aerospace research centre would have been the first of its kind in Western Europe by a private company.

Europe's efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed orbital rocket launch by Virgin Orbit from Britain in January.

PLD Space's Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-storey building and has a 100-kg (220-pound) cargo capacity. It can also be used to carry out zero-gravity experiments.

An earlier attempt to carry out a suborbital test mission in late May was postponed due to strong high-altitude winds.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sandra Maler and William Mallard)