RFA plans first launch this summer after shipping rocket stages to SaxaVord

Rocket Factory Augsburg said the first and second stages of its RFA ONE rocket have arrived at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland ahead of a first launch the company says it now expects this summer. The first stage came from Augsburg, Germany, while the second arrived from Esrange in Sweden after a single-engine hot-fire campaign. RFA said the nine Helix engines for the booster are still in final acceptance testing in Sweden and will follow later before vehicle integration and further testing at the pad.

Europe’s small-launch race is moving from slide decks to hardware, and RFA is back at the pad after losing a vehicle in a 2024 hot-fire accident.

The next checkpoint is straightforward: engine delivery, stage integration, and a successful first-stage hot fire at SaxaVord. If those milestones land cleanly, RFA moves back into the conversation as one of the most serious contenders in the race to establish routine orbital launch capability from Europe.