German launch company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has officially shifted the inaugural flight of its RFA ONE rocket to 2027. The company confirmed this updated timeline in a statement on November 3, following a visit from Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR.
The decision follows a technical setback encountered during testing on July 28. At that time, RFA had to de-stack the vehicle for investigation, which led to the cancellation of a five-week launch window originally scheduled to open on August 10.
Earlier this year, in March, RFA had delivered the first and second stages of the rocket to the SaxaVord spaceport in Scotland. The vehicle was fully integrated on the launch pad by July for planned static fire tests before the incident occurred.
Marco Fuchs, CEO of RFA’s majority shareholder OHB, which owns a 65.1% stake in the company, previously noted in an August 6 earnings call that the rocket was returned to the integration hall for tank inspection. While he initially aimed for a 2024 launch, he acknowledged the potential for further delays.
