The UK's first orbital rocket launch will have to wait a while longer. German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has put the brakes on the launch of its RFA One rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport on the Shetland Islands in Scotland after finding "an issue with the vehicle that requires further investigation" during pad testing.
RFA, which announced the problem on July 28, did not disclose the nature of the issue but said it would de-stack the staged rocket and provide more details as its investigation continues. The launch had been expected to take place in August or September; no new date has been announced.
The delay means the UK will have to wait at least a few more weeks for its first-ever vertical launch from British soil — a milestone that would make SaxaVord only the second site outside the European Space Agency's established Kourou spaceport to secure a launch license, which RFA received in January from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
RFA One, a three-stage rocket designed to launch small satellites, is central to RFA's ambition to become a leading launch provider in Europe. The setback comes amid a global squeeze on launch capacity — with demand driven by large satellite constellations and planned orbital data centers — and growing calls for European spaceflight autonomy.
It is common for new rockets to hit problems during development, including integrated pad testing, because spaceflight is inherently difficult. But there is more pressure than ever on startup launch companies to deliver quickly, for both commercial and defense reasons.
