RFA One is a small-lift multistage

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

with an on-orbit transfer stage designed to transport small and micro-satellites of up to 1,300 kg into low-Earth

polar Polar may refer to: Geography * Geographical pole, either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface ** Polar climate, the climate common in polar regions ** Polar regions of Earth, locations within the polar circ ...

and

Sun-synchronous A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

orbits. It has been in development by German

private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

Rocket Factory Augsburg Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) is a German NewSpace start-up located in Augsburg. It was founded in 2018 with the mission to build rockets just like cars. Its multistage rocket, RFA One, is currently under development. , it had been sched ...

since 2019. The vehicle is long with a diameter of . Both main stages use

RP-1 RP-1 (Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) and similar fuels like RG-1 and T-1 are highly refined kerosene formulations used as rocket fuel. Liquid-fueled rockets that use RP-1 as fuel are known as kerolox rockets. In their engines, RP- ...

fuel and

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing. Physical ...

oxidizer, while the transfer stage uses

storable propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, th ...

s. Initially aiming to launch in 2022—with subsequent delays moving the target to 2024—following an anomaly on a ground test stand in August 2024, the maiden launch is now slated for no earlier than 2025.

Description

The first stage is powered by nine Helix engines, each producing of thrust. The second stage will use a vacuum-optimised version of the Helix engine. The Helix engine uses rocket grade kerosene, known as

, fuel and

oxidizer. During 2020 the company redesigned Helix from a

gas-generator cycle The gas-generator cycle, also referred to as the GG cycle or colloquially as an open cycle, is one of the most commonly used power cycles in bipropellant liquid rocket engines. Propellant is burned in a gas generator (analogous to, but distinct ...

to an oxygen-rich

staged combustion cycle The staged combustion cycle (sometimes known as topping cycle, preburner cycle, or closed cycle) is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers, and is th ...

. Some components used in early engine versions, such as the turbopump, were procured from the Ukrainian company Pivdenmash to shorten development time. Later versions of these components have been developed internally. The third (or "orbital") stage, named Redshift, will function as an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV). Powered by an RFA-developed ''Fenix'' engine, with propellants of

nitromethane Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...

fuel and

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

oxidizer the engine can be restarted multiple times on orbit. This allows the vehicle to achieve different orbits within a single flight and complete various missions for particular customers.

Production and testing

The rocket is designed for serial production and is aiming to use a large number of

COTS COTS may refer to: * Commercial off-the-shelf, products that are commercially available and can be bought "as is" * Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, a NASA program for delivery to the International Space Station by private companies * ...

components to reduce production and launch costs. Major components of the engines of the first two stages are to be

3D printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

. In August 2021 RFA performed a cryogenic pressure test on a prototype first stage, during which the prototype burst. Three hot fire tests for performed with the Helix rocket engine with a total duration of 74 seconds in July 2022. The second stage was approved for flight operations in May 2023 through the integrated system test with 280 seconds of hot fire. In April 2024, RFA reported successful installation of five of nine Helix engines onto RFA One's first stage in preparation for transport to SaxaVord Spaceport for hot-fire stage testing. The first stage of the RFA One arrived in

SaxaVord Spaceport SaxaVord Spaceport, previously known as Shetland Space Centre, is a UK spaceport located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly of the inhabited Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland. The site is near the RAF Saxa Vord ...

in May and successfully performed its first hot fire test with five Helix engines that same month. On Monday, 19 August 2024, a

static fire Launch vehicle system tests assess the readiness of a launch system to safely reach orbit. Launch vehicles undergo system tests before they launch. Wet dress rehearsals (WDR) and more extensive static fire tests prepare fully assembled launch veh ...

test of the

first stage First stage or First Stage may refer to: * First Stage Children's Theater, a professional American children's theater based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin * First stage (rocketry), the first stage of a multistage rocket * the first reading of a bill in t ...

with all nine engines, the stage that was slated to fly on the maiden flight of RFA One, experienced an anomaly that resulted in a fire, subsequent explosion, loss of the stage, and major damage to the launch mount.RFA first stage destroyed in static-fire test

SpaceNews ''SpaceNews'' is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. ''SpaceNews'' provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives ...

, 19 August 2024.Rocket engine explodes during test at Shetland spaceport

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 19 August 2024 Ground testing of a new RFA One launch vehicle is slated for 2025, which is also the revised estimate for a first orbital launch attempt. A launch license was granted by the Civil Aviation Authority on 16 January 2025, limiting the company to 10 launches per year as well as no more than two in any given month, and requires 60 days' notice for

range safety In rocketry, range safety or flight safety is ensured by monitoring the flight paths of missiles and launch vehicles, and enforcing strict guidelines for rocket construction and ground-based operations. Various measures are implemented to protect ...

purposes.

List of launch plans

References

{{Orbital launch systems Space launch vehicles of Germany Expendable space launch systems