The RFA company plans to launch a rocket from the UK in 2026.
The German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) plans to launch its RFA ONE rocket from the UK as early as 2026. This is reported by the portal European Spaceflight.
The publication notes that the startup has made significant progress towards its first re-launch from the SaxaVord spaceport in Scotland. In particular, RFA is preparing for hot-fire tests of the first stage of the RFA ONE rocket and is also developing an additional (third) stage for the launch vehicle — the Redshift upper stage.
According to RFA's CEO Indulis Kalnins, the first stage of the rocket is currently being transported from Augsburg (Germany) to the launch site on the island of Unst. He noted that the second stage of the launch vehicle, which has received an upgraded Helix engine and software updates, will be delivered to the launch site in the coming weeks.
In April, the publication NSF reported that RFA confirmed its plans to launch the RFA One rocket from the SaxaVord spaceport in the UK by the end of 2025.
In August 2024, European Spaceflight, citing RFA's Chief Operating Officer Stefan Brischenko, reported that the first stage of the promising RFA ONE rocket exploded due to the ignition of oxygen in one of the turbopumps.
The promising two-stage RFA ONE rocket, standing 30 meters tall, is designed to deliver payloads of up to 1300 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
