RFA One
| Function | Orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Rocket Factory Augsburg |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Cost per launch | €3 Million [1] |
| Size | |
| Height | 30 m (98 ft) [2] |
| Diameter | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) |
| Payload to SSO | |
| Altitude | 500 km (310 mi) |
| Mass | 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) |
| Payload to polar orbit | |
| Altitude | 2,000 km (1,200 mi) |
| Mass | 850 kg (1,870 lb) |
| Payload to MEO | |
| Altitude | 6,000 km (3,700 mi) |
| Mass | 500 kg (1,100 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 450 kg (990 lb) |
| Payload to TLI | |
| Mass | 300 kg (660 lb) |
| Payload to GEO | |
| Mass | 150 kg (330 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | In development |
| Launch sites | SaxaVord |
| First flight | 2025 (planned) [3] |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | 9 × Helix - Staged combustion cycle [2] |
| Maximum thrust | 900 kN (200,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 325 seconds (3.19 km/s) |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 × Helix Vac [4] |
| Specific impulse | 350 seconds (3.4 km/s) |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Third stage – Redshift | |
| Powered by | 1 × Fenix [5] |
| Maximum thrust | 1.5 kN (340 lbf) |
| Propellant | Nitromethane/Nitrous oxide[6] |
RFA One is a small-lift multistage launch vehicle with an on-orbit transfer stage designed to transport small and micro-satellites of up to 1,300 kg into low-Earth polar and Sun-synchronous orbits. It has been in development by German private company Rocket Factory Augsburg since 2019.[4][7]
The vehicle is 30 m (98 ft) long with a diameter of 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Both main stages use RP-1 fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer, while the transfer stage uses storable propellants.[4]
Initially aiming to launch in 2022[4]—with subsequent delays moving the target to 2024—following an anomaly on a ground test stand in August 2024, the maiden launch is now slated for no earlier than 2025.[3]
Description
[edit]The first stage is powered by nine Helix engines, each producing 100 kN (22,000 lbf) of thrust.[4][8] The second stage will use a vacuum-optimised version of the Helix engine.[8] The Helix engine uses rocket grade kerosene, known as RP-1, fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer.[4] During 2020 the company redesigned Helix from a gas-generator cycle to an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle.[4] Some components used in early engine versions, such as the turbopump, were procured from the Ukrainian company Pivdenmash to shorten development time.[9] Later versions of these components have been developed internally.[citation needed]
The third (or "orbital") stage, named Redshift, will function as an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV). Powered by an RFA-developed Fenix engine, with propellants of nitromethane fuel and nitrous oxide oxidizer[6] the engine can be restarted multiple times on orbit. This allows the vehicle to achieve different orbits within a single flight and complete various missions for particular customers.[4]
Production and testing
[edit]The rocket is designed for serial production and is aiming to use a large number of COTS components to reduce production and launch costs. Major components of the engines of the first two stages are to be 3D printed.[10]
In August 2021 RFA performed a cryogenic pressure test on a prototype first stage, during which the prototype burst.[11][4] Three hot fire tests for performed with the Helix rocket engine with a total duration of 74 seconds in July 2022. The second stage was approved for flight operations in May 2023 through the integrated system test with 280 seconds of hot fire.[12]
In April 2024, RFA reported successful installation of five of nine Helix engines onto RFA One's first stage in preparation for transport to SaxaVord Spaceport for hot-fire stage testing.[13]
The first stage of the RFA One arrived in SaxaVord Spaceport in May and successfully performed its first hot fire test with five Helix engines that same month.[14][15]
On Monday, 19 August 2024, a static fire test of the first stage with all nine engines, the stage that was slated to fly on the maiden flight of RFA One, experienced an anomaly that resulted in a fire, subsequent explosion, loss of the stage, and major damage to the launch mount.[16][17][18] Ground testing of a new RFA One launch vehicle is slated for 2025, which is also the revised estimate for a first orbital launch attempt.[3]
List of launch plans
[edit]| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | User | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025[3] | RFA One | SaxaVord |  AllBertEinStein
|
500 km SSO | Multiple users | Planned |
| Maiden flight of RFA One. | ||||||
| (formerly, Q4 2024)[19] | RFA One | SaxaVord | Midas
|
500 km SSO | Multiple users | Planned |
| Second RFA One test flight. | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (2021-02-12). "German Microlauncher start-up Rocket Factory announces unrivalled low price of EUR 3 million per rocket launch" (Press release). Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ a b Adrian Beil (2021-08-30). "German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg successfully performs critical tests ahead of 2022 debut". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ a b c d Rainbow, Jason (23 August 2024). "RFA pushes maiden flight to 2025 after launchpad explosion". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Beil, Adrian (2021-08-30). "German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg successfully performs critical tests ahead of 2022 debut". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ Parsonson, Andrew (2022-08-30). "European Rocket Propulsion Index - European Spaceflight". Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ a b "LinkedIn Update". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "LAUNCHER". Rocket Factory Augsburg. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ a b "Rocket Factory Augsburg Chose Helix Rocket Engine in a Public Contest". Orbital Today. 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Krempl, Stefan (26 April 2022). "Kleinraketen: Bund beflügelt Rocket Factory Augsburg mit 11 Millionen Euro". heise online (in German). Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Beil, Adrian (2022-10-24). "Rocket Factory Augsburg talks reusability plans and 3D printing". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ Cryogenic Burst Test - RFA, 30 August 2021, retrieved 2022-05-17
- ^ "RFA completed a crucial Full Duration Hot Fire Test of the RFA One Upper Stage | Space Voyaging". 2023-06-11. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "Rocket Factory Augsburg on Twitter". Twitter. 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ RFA One´s first stage arrived on the launch pad. Retrieved 2024-05-08 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Rocket Factory Augsburg on X". X. 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ RFA first stage destroyed in static-fire test, SpaceNews, 19 August 2024.
- ^ Rocket engine explodes during test at Shetland spaceport, BBC News, 19 August 2024
- ^ "Rocket factory Augsburg". x.com. Aug 19, 2024.
- ^ "RFA flies eight customers on second flight". RFA (Press release). 23 November 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.