The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) a contract amendment that will provide the company with €2.7 million in additional co-funding to support the build-out of the company’s launch and testing infrastructure at SaxaVord in Scotland. According to the agency, RFA is expected to resume preparations for static fire tests of its first RFA ONE rocket “soon.”
Announced on 23 September, the contract extension will fund the development of testing facilities at SaxaVord that will allow for hot-fire tests of individual Helix 1.0 rocket engines and fully integrated RFA ONE second stages. ESA added that the funding would also support additional ground infrastructure at the spaceport, although it did not specify what infrastructure this would include.
“This co-funding focuses on capabilities that are essential for safe flight operations at the SaxaVord Spaceport for the first test flights and to strengthen the foundation for [the company’s] ramp-up,” said Jorgen Bru, Commercial Services Manager and Technical Officer for the Boost! programme at ESA.
The funding is being provided by the UK Space Agency through ESA’s Boost! programme, which aims to foster the development and commercialisation of European space transportation services. In total, RFA has secured more than €33 million in Boost! funding from Germany, Portugal, and the UK. The latest award appears to be an extension of the €3.6 million awarded to the company in late 2023 to develop and deploy infrastructure at SaxaVord for testing RFA ONE first stages.
RFA is currently working towards its second attempt at an inaugural flight of its RFA ONE rocket after an August 2024 static-fire test resulted in the loss of the original first stage intended for the mission. The company returned to the launch pad with a replacement in July 2026, announcing that a fully integrated RFA ONE had been erected ahead of a planned static fire test. However, after a week of testing, RFA said it had encountered an unspecified issue with the vehicle and decided to destack it for further investigation. Until now, the company had provided no further update on its progress towards returning the vehicle to the launch pad.
While not from the company itself, the 23 September ESA press release states that the static fire test is “coming soon.” The agency did, however, provide no additional details.
