RFA One in Saxavord Spaceport

The first and second stage for the Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) rocket RFA One at the Saxavord Spaceport, UK.

The first stage was built and tested in Augsburg, Germany, before being delivered to the launch site at SaxaVord in February 2026, where its rocket engines will be installed. RFA One uses nine Helix engines on the first stage that are tested at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden and delivered to SaxaVord.

The second stage seen at the far end of the photo is undergoing final checks after it too passed hot-fire tests at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden.

RFA One is an orbital vehicle to be launched from its Saxavord launch pad in the UK. Measuring 30 m tall and 2 m in diameter, RFA One targets a deployment capability of up to 1300 kg to a 500 km polar orbit.

The RFA One launch vehicle is being developed in Augsburg, Germany, with hot-fire tests of the engine and second stage already performed at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden, under the initial Boost! co-funding committed by ESA in 2022. RFA is also one of the European launch service providers to receive ESA support for its ramp-up phases to accelerate launch service deployment as part of the European Launcher Challenge.