RFA ONE
Rocket Factory Augsburg
RFA ONE is a German three-stage small-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Factory Augsburg to deliver payloads of up to about 1,600 kg to LEO.
Technical specifications
- Height
- 30 m
- Diameter
- 2 m
- Stages
- 3 (first stage, second stage, Redshift orbital transfer third stage)
- First stage engines
- 9x Helix engines, ~900 kN total, RP-1/LOX, staged combustion
- Second stage engine
- 1x Helix Vac, RP-1/LOX, Isp ~350 s
- Third stage (Redshift) engine
- Fenix engine, nitromethane/nitrous oxide, multiple restarts
- Payload to LEO
- up to 1,600 kg
- Payload to 500 km SSO
- 1,300 kg
- Payload to GTO
- 450 kg
- Payload to Lunar Transfer Orbit
- 300 kg
- Launch site
- SaxaVord Spaceport, Shetland, Scotland, UK
- Flight heritage/status
- No orbital flights to date. Static-fire test explosion destroyed the first stage at SaxaVord on 19 August 2024. Redesigned engines validated via hot-fire tests Jan-Apr 2026; UK Space Agency approved return-to-flight May 2026; new stages delivered to SaxaVord. Maiden launch targeted no earlier than summer 2026.
About
RFA ONE is a 30-meter-tall, 2-meter-diameter, three-stage expendable small-lift launch vehicle developed by Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a German new-space company founded in 2018. The vehicle offers dedicated and rideshare missions to LEO, SSO, polar orbit, MEO, GTO, and lunar transfer orbit, using a third-stage orbital transfer vehicle called Redshift powered by a restartable Fenix engine. The first stage is powered by a cluster of nine in-house Helix engines (~900 kN total thrust), while the second stage uses a single vacuum-optimized Helix engine; both burn RP-1/liquid oxygen. Flight heritage has been marked by a major setback: on 19 August 2024, a static-fire test of the fully assembled first stage at SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, Scotland suffered an anomaly leading to a fire and explosion, destroying the stage. RFA redesigned engine components and conducted validation hot-fire testing through late 2025 and early 2026. As of mid-2026, RFA has completed successful validation hot-fire tests with no instability detected, received UK Space Agency approval to return to flight in May 2026, and delivered newly built first and second stages to SaxaVord. The maiden orbital launch attempt is targeted for no earlier than summer 2026; RFA ONE has not yet reached orbit.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.