Develops and manufactures the orbital launch vehicle RFA One, the Helix main-stage engine, as well as orbital transfer and cargo space vehicles.
Rocket Factory Augsburg AG
Augsburg (headquarters, factory) · Matosinhos (PT) · Kiruna/Esrange (SE) · Unst, SaxaVord Spaceport (GB)New on Amplifa
About Rocket Factory Augsburg
Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) is a German space company founded in 2018 as a spin-off of OHB SE. The company develops and manufactures the three-stage orbital launch vehicle RFA One with a payload capacity of up to 1600 kg into Earth orbits at approximately 400 km altitude; the third stage is the Redshift OTV orbital transfer vehicle. The core element is the Helix engine, an oxygen-rich staged-combustion main-stage engine with 100 kN of thrust each; the first stage carries nine units, while the second stage uses a vacuum-optimized version. Production follows a serial production approach ("build rockets just like cars") and includes, among other things, the manufacture of composite structures, engine manufacturing, cryogenic pressure testing, and hot-fire testing of engines and integrated stages. Products also include the unmanned cargo spacecraft Argo with up to 4000 kg of payload to and from the space station; its Fenix engine is based on nitromethane. Customers are satellite operators of scientific and commercial missions, including DLR with 150 kg of payload on each of the first two RFA One flights. The headquarters with factory and offices has been located in Augsburg since March 2021; further sites are Matosinhos (Portugal, composite structures), Kiruna/Esrange (Sweden, engine development and testing) and the SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst (Scotland, launch facility and test stand).
- Site
- Augsburg
- Processes
- Manufacture of composite structures (composite material manufacturing for RFA One), Serial production of rockets ("build rockets just like cars", serial production), Cryogenic pressure testing of the first-stage prototype, Hot-fire testing of engines (Helix) and integrated stages, Launch services, Redshift OTV orbital transfer service (last-mile delivery, LEO to GTO), Development and construction of launch vehicles and spacecraft
- Materials
- RP-1 (rocket-grade kerosene), Liquid oxygen (LOX), Non-hydrazine-based, restartable green propellant (Redshift/Fenix), Fiber-reinforced composite material, Nitromethane-based propellant
- Founded
- 2018
- Employees
- >300
- Industries
- Space/NewSpace, Satellite operators (scientific and commercial missions)
- 01
Engineering and engine development (Helix, Fenix)
- 02
Manufacture of composite structures (RFA Portugal, Matosinhos)
- 03
Manufacture and assembly of the stages in Augsburg
- 04
Cryogenic pressure testing
- 05
Hot-fire testing of engines and integrated stages (Kiruna, SaxaVord)
- 06
Launch operations (Launch Services) and orbital transfer (Redshift OTV)
Materials & Processes
RP-1 (rocket-grade kerosene)
Fuel of the Helix staged-combustion engine in the first and second stage.
Liquid oxygen (LOX)
Oxidizer of the Helix engines in the staged-combustion process.
Nitromethane-based propellant
Non-hydrazine-based, restartable propellant for the Fenix engines of the Redshift OTV kick stage.
Fiber-reinforced composite material
Developed and qualified in Portugal for structures of the RFA One.
Sites
Augsburg
DEHeadquarters, factory and offices (Berliner Allee 65)
- Lot size
- Serial production
- Helix main-stage engine (9× first stage, 1× vacuum version second stage)
- Fenix engine
Matosinhos
PTSubsidiary RFA Portugal Unipessoal LDA – development and qualification of composite structures
- Materials
- Fiber-reinforced composite material
Kiruna (Esrange)
SEDevelopment and test site for rocket engines
- Hot-fire test stands
Unst, Shetland Islands (SaxaVord Spaceport)
GBExclusive access to Launch Pad Fredo, launch facility and test stand
- Lot size
- Monthly launches planned
- Launch facility Launch Pad Fredo
- Test stand
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacture of composite structures (composite material manufacturing for RFA One)Joining | – | – | – | – | Fiber-reinforced composite materials |
| Serial production of rockets ("build rockets just like cars", serial production)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cryogenic pressure testing of the first-stage prototypeTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hot-fire testing of engines (Helix) and integrated stagesTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
2 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket main engine (staged combustion) | Rocket Factory Augsburg Helix | 9 (first | – | – | Augsburg / Esrange Kiruna test stand (Sweden) / SaxaVord Spaceport (Scotland) |
| Kick stage/OTV engine (nitromethane-based, restartable) | Rocket Factory Augsburg Fenix | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 2018
Founded as a spin-off of OHB SE by Jörn Spurmann, Stefan Brieschenk, Hans Steiniger and Marco Fuchs; investors: OHB SE and Apollo Capital Partners GmbH.
- 2021
Move in March to the new headquarters factory in Augsburg (Berliner Allee 65); August: start of cryogenic pressure tests on the first-stage prototype; June: founding of the Portuguese subsidiary RFA Portugal.
- 2022
April: 2nd place in the DLR microlauncher competition and €11 million in ESA funding; July: first hot-fire tests of the Helix engine.
- 2023
January: exclusive access to Launch Pad Fredo at the SaxaVord Spaceport; June: first European company to complete a full upper-stage test with the Helix main-stage engine (280 s); August: €30 million investment by KKR; announcement of the Argo cargo spacecraft.
- 2024
May: hot-fire campaign of the first stage at the SaxaVord Spaceport with four Helix engines; 19 August: anomaly during the static-fire test with nine engines, explosion and destruction of the stage; November: €11.8 million through the ESA Boost! program.
- 2025
January: license from the British CAA for ten launches; April: Indulis Kalnins takes over the CEO role from Stefan Tweraser; July: pre-selection by ESA as one of five candidates for the European Launcher Challenge; first launch of the RFA One from SaxaVord planned.