RFA Confirms Inaugural RFA ONE Launch Has Slipped to 2027

What happened

German launch company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has confirmed that it is now targeting 2027 for the inaugural flight of its RFA ONE rocket from a Scottish launch facility. The revised target for the rocket’s inaugural flight was announced in a post published on the company’s LinkedIn page on 3 November.

RFA announced in March that it had delivered the first and second stages of RFA ONE to SaxaVord in Scotland, with an inaugural flight planned for the summer. The vehicle was subsequently fully integrated and stacked on the launch pad in July ahead of a planned first-stage static fire test.

The company did not disclose the nature of the issue at the time. The post detailed a visit from Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR.

The statement marks the first time RFA has publicly acknowledged a 2027 launch target since the rocket planned for the flight was destacked for an investigation. The company has not yet provided a more specific launch window.