Rocket Factory Augsburg now targets 2027 for the first launch of RFA ONE from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. The German company identified that objective in a November 3, 2026, update about a visit by Walther Pelzer, director general of the German Space Agency at DLR. European Spaceflight reported the revised target on November 9.
The statement moves the inaugural flight beyond the company’s earlier expectation of a launch during 2026. It follows a ground-testing problem in July that prompted the rocket to be taken apart from its assembled configuration for investigation and led to cancellation of its August launch window.
From Stage Delivery to Ground Testing
RFA’s March 6 delivery announcement described the arrival of the rocket’s first and second stages at SaxaVord. At that point, the company planned its first orbital test flight for summer 2026.
The first stage had been newly built and tested in Augsburg before reaching the Scottish launch site in February. RFA said its nine Helix engines were undergoing testing in Sweden and would arrive at SaxaVord individually for installation. The second stage reached the spaceport after completing a hot-fire test at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden.
These deliveries followed development work on the Helix engines, tank pressurization systems, and operating procedures. RFA said it had investigated and addressed the causes of its August 2024 first-stage hot-fire incident. The replacement first stage and tested second stage formed the hardware for the subsequent integration campaign.
By July 2026, the vehicle had been assembled on the launch pad ahead of a planned first-stage static-fire test. A static fire operates the propulsion system with the rocket secured to the ground, allowing engineers to examine its behavior without launching the vehicle.
On July 28, RFA announced a testing issue requiring the vehicle to be taken down for investigation and possible corrective work. The five-week launch window scheduled to begin on August 10 was canceled. During an August 6 earnings call, OHB chief executive Marco Fuchs still described the first test flight as planned for later in 2026, according to European Spaceflight.
The November company statement establishes 2027 as the revised first-flight objective. The underlying announcement dates to November 3; November 9 is the date of the subsequent reporting.
The Rocket Being Prepared for Flight
RFA ONE combines a first-stage engine cluster, an upper stage, and the Redshift orbital transfer vehicle. RFA’s launch vehicle guide describes nine Helix engines on the first stage and a vacuum-adapted Helix engine on the second.
Helix uses oxygen-rich staged combustion. In this arrangement, gases that drive the engine’s turbopump are routed into the main combustion chamber, where combustion continues. The turbopump supplies propellant to the engine at high pressure.
The second-stage engine has a larger nozzle suited to operation at low atmospheric pressure. RFA also gives that stage its own helium supply for starting the turbopump, whereas the first-stage engines use helium supplied by the launch pad.
After the launch stages have performed their work, Redshift is designed to deploy customer payloads. Its restartable Fenix engine supports orbital maneuvers, and RFA offers configurations for both shared launches carrying multiple customers’ satellites and dedicated missions.
RFA’s manufacturing approach uses stainless-steel tanks and standardized components from established industries. The company describes this combination of propulsion development and industrial sourcing as part of its approach to producing the launcher.
A German Launcher at a Scottish Spaceport
The first-flight campaign connects development and manufacturing in Germany, propulsion testing in Sweden, and launch operations at SaxaVord. The March stage deliveries brought those activities together at the Scottish site for vehicle integration.
SaxaVord also appears in the broader relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany. As documented in New Space Economy’s coverage of UK and German space cooperation, an October 8 joint statement named the spaceport in plans to deepen cooperation on launch and assured access to space.
RFA’s November update places its next major flight objective in 2027: the inaugural RFA ONE launch from SaxaVord, following the stage manufacturing, engine testing, vehicle integration, and investigation work undertaken during the development campaign.
