German company aims for rocket launch every month from Shetland
A German company hopes to launch rockets into space as often as once a month from the Shetland Islands.
Rocket Factory Augsburg’s (RFA) chief commercial officer said excitement is building ahead of their “Olympic gold medal” moment this summer – when they will try to achieve Europe’s first-ever launch delivering satellites into orbit.
The company is one of several planning to use launch pads at Saxavord Spaceport on the island of Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.
In December, Saxavord was granted the UK’S first vertical launch spaceport licence, allowing up to 30 launches each year.
Jorn Spurmann, inset, spoke about RFA’S plans for the first launch of their RFA One launcher – a 30m-tall threestage rocket which can deliver a 1,300kg payload to a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth.
He said “everything looks positive” for the first launch taking place in the summer but much will depend on their testing process.
Mr Spurmann said: “We plan to be on pad in the summer and start the (testing) campaign.
“Then we have an anticipated first launch attempt and we see how it goes.”
He added: “We have on the Shetland Islands a dedicated launch pad purely for RFA. So, there’s no time pressure for us.”
He said people on Unst, which has a population of around 600, were supportive of the project, saying: “The locals, they pretty much realise what a big opportunity it is for them.”
After testing in Germany and elsewhere, the various components of the rocket and its cargo of satellites will be shipped to Lerwick in around a dozen containers before being driven north to Unst.
Mr Spurmann said: “We do a full assembly and checkout testing in Augsburg. And then we put it into a dozen containers roughly.
“Then the final remating of these stages and encapsulation of the fairing, final testing.”
A “hot test” of the rocket’s first-stage engines is expected in the months ahead of the first flight.
Mr Spurmann said: “We’re planning mid-term to get to a launch cadence of once a month.”