notablelaunch2026-09-23

Rocket Factory Augsburg gets 2.7 million euro ESA Boost extension

Rocket Factory Augsburg · European Space Agency

ESA extended its Boost co-funding to RFA by 2.7 million euros to prepare SaxaVord test infrastructure ahead of RFA One's first launches.

// sources · 2 attached

what happened

ESA extended its Boost programme contract with Rocket Factory Augsburg by 2.7 million euros in co-funding, drawn from UK Space Agency contributions and matched by an equivalent RFA investment. The funds will modify test infrastructure at SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland so RFA can run hot-fire tests of its Helix 1.0 engines directly at the site and use the same test bench for RFA One's second stage, ahead of the vehicle's Test Flight-1 and Test Flight-2.

why it matters

The extension keeps RFA's test campaign moving toward RFA One's long-delayed first launch, one of the vehicles European institutional and commercial customers are counting on to diversify away from Ariane 6 and Vega C, whose 2026 schedules have both slipped this year.