RFA suffers loss of vehicle during a static fire

On the evening of August 19th, Rocket Factory Augsburg was performing a nine-engine static fire on the first-stage of its RFA ONE launch vehicle. However a few seconds into the firing an anomoly occured, leading to the loss of the first-stage.

Rocket Factory Augsburg has not yet stated the cause of the anomaly. The most reasonable unofficial theory is that one of the engines failed semi-explosively causing one of the propellant tanks to rupture.

Shortly after the anomaly, Rocket Factory Augsburg released a statement saying the following:

"On Monday Evening, RFA (Rocket Factory Augsburg) conducted a hot fire its first stage at their launch site at SaxaVord Spaceport."
"This resulted in an anomaly that led to the loss of the stage. No one was injured in the process. The launch pad has been saved and is secured, the situation is under control, and any immediate danger has been mitigated. We are now working closely with SaxaVord Spaceport and the authorities to gather data and info to eventually resolve what happened."
"We will take our time to analyze the situation."
"We develop iteratively with an emphasis on real testing. This is part of our philosophy and we were aware of the higher risks attached to this approach. Our goal is to return to regular operations as soon as possible"
"We will keep you updated on our channels. Until then we kindly ask for your patience"

The nine-engine test anomaly occurred on the company's launch pad at the SaxaVord Spaceport, on the Scottish Island of Shetland, part of the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for the SaxaVord Spaceport said the following to state-affiliated media of the United Kingdom:

"This was a test, and test campaigns are designed to identify issues prior to the next stage." – "We will work with RFA to understand and learn from the causes and support them as they move forward to the next phase of their preparations."

The loss of the first-stage of RFA ONE has likely pushed the debut flight of the launch vehicle into 2025. Rocket Factory Augsburg had been targeting a launch in September of this year.

It is unknown when another first-stage will be ready to perform the flight, but the second-stage and third-stage are at the SaxaVord Spaceport, along with the payloads.

Had this first-stage survived the test, Rocket Factory Augsburg would have had a good chance of becoming the first company to launch a rocket into orbit from continental Europe.

Who is Rocket Factory Augsburg?

Rocket Factory Augsburg is a German launch company founded in August of 2018, and is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany.

The company is developing a two-stage launch vehicle to carry up to 1,300 kilograms of payloads into polar orbits. This rocket is called RFA ONE and stands 30 meters tall on the launchpad. Ten Helix engines will power RFA ONE, with nine on the first-stage and one on the second-stage. These engines will burn rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen.

The company is also working on an orbital transfer stage called Redshift to increase RFA ONE's capabilities. Redshift will be powered by a single Fenix engine, with the engine burning nitromethane and nitrous oxide.