spacetoday.net: RFA ONE first stage destroyed in static-fire test

Posted: Sat, Aug 24, 2024, 12:08 PM ET (1608 GMT)
The first stage of Rocket Factory Augsburg's first rocket exploded on a test stand Monday, just weeks before its anticipated launch. The Germany company said the stage for its RFA ONE rocket was destroyed in a static-fire test late Monday at SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. Video of the test showed an explosion at the base of the stage at engine ignition, starting a fire that consumed the stage. The test was one of the last planned for the rocket before a launch that was expected for this fall from the spaceport. That launch was to have been the first for RFA and the first vertical orbital launch from the United Kingdom.