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Space launch vehicle in development From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
 | This article may require copy editing for The custom coded wikitable should be converted to {{infobox rocket}}. (September 2024) |
| RFA One | |
|---|---|
| Country of Origin |  Germany |
| Manufacturer | Rocket Factory Augsburg AG |
| Launch Cost | ~€3 million[1] |
| Dimensions[2] | |
| Height | 30 m |
| Diameter | 2 m |
| Stages | 3 (two stages + Redshift OTV) |
| Payload Capability | |
| Mass |
|
| Scheduled launches | |
| Status | In development |
| First Launch | 2025 (planned)[3] |
| First stage[2] | |
| Engines | 9 × Helix - Staged combustion cycle |
| Thrust | 900 kN |
| Specific Impulse | 325 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage[4] | |
| Engines | 1 × Helix Vac |
| Specific Impulse | 350 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Third / orbital stage - "Redshift"[2] | |
| Engine | 1 × Fenix engine[5] |
| Thrust | 1.5 kN[5] |
| Propellant | Nitromethane fuel, Nitrous oxide[6] |
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]
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]
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]
In July 2024, RFA successfully tested their third stage Redshift with the in-house manufactured Fenix engine for the full flight duration.[16]
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.[17][18][19] 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]
| 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)[20] | RFA One | SaxaVord | Midas
|
500 km SSO | Multiple users | Planned |
| Second RFA One test flight. | ||||||
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