Maiden flight of RFA ONE to launch LRS´s mission

November 18, 2021

Bremen, Germany, 18.11.2021 – Lunar Research Service (LRS) and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) have agreed on a launch service contract. According to this, RFA will fly a research mission of Ukraine-based LRS with its RFA ONE micro launcher into low-Earth orbit. The flight, which will take place end of 2022 from Andøya, Norway, will be the maiden flight of the German-developed launch vehicle.

Lunar Research Service will use the results of the mission to improve its ground-orbit communications and test a solar concentrator that will be used in the upcoming lunar mission. Among the features of the mission are proprietary satellite design and a developed in-house deployment system.

“Ride-sharing opportunities let new space companies quickly prove their technologies to customers as well as to investors. At the same time, our customers can significantly reduce their time-to-market. By helping startups, research labs and scientists at the earliest stages of their development, we form a solid foundation for long-term partnership during their technology testing”, says Dmytro Khmara, CEO of Lunar Research Service.

“We are very happy to sign with LRS as a customer on our first launch. The contract is a demonstration of our attractive rideshare service pricing. We are honored by the trust from LRS to embark on our maiden launch and are looking forward to its joint preparation. We can hardly wait and are eager to fly customers into orbit,” says Jörn Spurmann, Chief Commercial Officer of RFA,” says Jörn Spurmann, Chief Commercial Officer of RFA.

About Rocket Factory

Rocket Factory Augsburg was founded in 2018 with the mission to significantly reduce launch costs in the space industry. The company’s goal is to develop a launch vehicle prototype by the end of 2022 which can launch satellites into low Earth orbits on a weekly basis at unmatched prices. The RFA ONE launch vehicle combines three key competitive advantages: a highly cost-efficient architecture using industrial automation and lowest-possible development costs, precise in-orbit delivery by its orbital stage, and superior propulsion systems using staged-combustion.

About Lunar Research Service

Lunar Research Service is a nano-satellite manufacturer, hardware testing lab, and space mission integrator. The company’s efforts are focused on developing solutions for Earth orbit and lunar missions, enabling hardware and software ranging from single nano-satellites to constellations and lunar rovers.

Press Contact for RFA:

Mr. Jonas Kellner

Phone +49 821 999576-21

Email: jonas.kellner@rfa.space

Rocket Factory Augsburg AG

Berliner Allee 65

D-86153 Augsburg

Chairman of Supervisory Board: Jean-Jacques Dordain

Executive Board: Stefan Tweraser, Stefan Brieschenk, Jörn Spurmann

Headquarter: Augsburg

Place of jurisdiction: AG Augsburg, HRB 34251

Tax-ID: DE319402838