Rocket Factory wants to dare rocket first flight from Shetland Islands

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After some back and forth, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has found a launch site for the maiden flight of its three-stage small rocket RFA One: It is expected to take place at the end of the year from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. The rocket manufacturer and the operator of the spaceport at the northernmost point of Great Britain announced a partnership on Wednesday. According to the agreement, RFA will have "exclusive access" to the "Fredo" lift-off site there for orbital launches.

"Ideal location"

Initially, the first flight of RFA One was to take place from the Norwegian island of Andøya at the end of 2022. The Augsburg-based start-up had signed a contract with the Ukrainian company Lunar Research Service (LSR) for this purpose. For the development of parts of the engine technology, RFA purchased a used turbopump from the Ukrainian company Yuzhmash in order to obtain entry points for later in-house production with the aid of tests. RFA now describes the new launch site on the Shetland Islands, where the matching ramp has already been in place since the end of 2022, as an "ideal location for transporting satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits." The logistics, infrastructure and operational readiness there were a perfect match for the company's own plans.

According to the company, the RFA launch pad is the first for vertical orbital rocket launches in the UK and mainland Europe. In the future, it will also be used for testing and qualification of the first stages of the 30-meter-high RFA One, which is expected to begin in mid-2023. The first launch will then be into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.

Last year, RFA was the second winner after Isar Aerospace in the main round of the German Space Agency's microlauncher competition. The satellites launched into orbit are primarily intended for earth observation and communication, as well as providing data for self-driving cars, climate and environmental protection, and the Internet of Things.

(mho)