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THE PREBURNER

Your launchpad to a world of knowledge, exploration and innovation. Explore the future of space with us, one blog post at a time.

BLOG

THE PREBURNER

Your launchpad to a world of knowledge, exploration and innovation. Explore the future of space with us, one blog post at a time.

RFA ONE: The Most Comprehensive Guide to Our Launch Vehicle

07 November 2024

We’ve got one mission at Rocket Factory Augsburg: to provide cost-effective, flexible, and frequent access to space. At the heart of this mission is our RFA ONE launch vehicle. With three stages, innovative engine designs and a – for this rocket class – above-average payload capacity, it is built for maximum efficiency and performance. Our previous blog post about our stage zero launch pad was...

Standing on the shoulders of a giant: An overview of our launch pad

02 July 2024

Reaching the launch pad is a monumental milestone for any rocket company, but building the launch pad is an entirely different challenge. It is essential for launching a rocket, yet it often remains an unsung hero in the background. At Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), we’re dedicated to sharing the story of our “Stage Zero” and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at our process. While most people focus on the rocket itself (which is completely fair), we delve...

The Ultimate Guide to Argo: Our Cost-Effective Cargo Capsule

21 March 2024

Meet Argo, our cost-effective space cargo capsule. Optimized for flexibility and reliability, Argo offers an end-to-end service at a low price point of just €150M. Led by RFA, the bidding consortium combines our expertise with that from Space Cargo Unlimited, along with partners like ATMOS Space Cargo to offer a fully reusable solution for the European Space Agency and commercial clients. Instead of giving you a formal press release, we decided the best way...

“This is the day the European launcher sector will totally change.”

19 October 2023

An interview with former Director General of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain. Jean-Jacques Dordain is Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Rocket Factory Augsburg AG. Having been professionally involved in space travel since the 1970s, he brings a wealth of experience to the table and is a highly valued member of our RFA family. From his dreams of being an astronaut to becoming Director General at ESA and eventually joining RFA, Jean-Jacques has a unique story to...

Iteration - the unique RFA way to success

24 May 2023

Smart iteration cycles and straight forward development Iteration is one of the most important aspects to make technical development fast, efficient and successful. RFA has a very original and unique way of keeping its iteration cycles short and moving quickly to further development steps. Technical progress thrives on an apparent contradiction: on the one hand, development is thought of in terms of the end product, but on the other hand, the focus is always...

We asked ChatGPT if spaceflight is necessary!

23 February 2023

We asked ChatGPT if spaceflight is necessary! And then we commented it. The hype around ChatGPT has been going around for some time now. So we decided to ask artificial intelligence if space travel is necessary. The generated article is surprisingly good, but (luckily?) it is not perfect – so we disagree or add in comments. You can see our comments when hovering with the mouse over the blue marks. Let’s look at where that is the case. ChatGPT, write a...

Europe: Step up to commercialization!

21 November 2022

Europe stands – once again – at a crossroad. The Russian-Ukrainian crisis painfully demonstrated how quickly access to orbit can be lost. Now, only two options remain: either Europe renews its dependencies on the US and other foreign launchers, or finally decides to compete on its own, building up European capabilities that can compete in the international market. Let’s do the latter!

Space Debris: A threat just beyond the horizon

28 July 2022

With the advent of mega-satellite constellations like SpaceX´s Starlink, who plan to launch more than 12,000 satellites, space debris is increasingly becoming an issue. Satellites break, lose control capability, or have to be turned off. In addition, anti-satellite tests generated large clouds of debris in space, even endangering the lives of astronauts on the ISS. We urgently need clear and internationally valid rules and regulations regarding space debris....

Sustainable Space Flight: More than loud noises and flashy lights

04 May 2022

In November 2022, the next UN World Climate Conference will take place in Egypt. And it will reconfirm what we have known for years: Something has to change. And we can change something – from space. Data from satellites in low-earth orbit allow us to conduct comprehensive real-time research on the climate, make informed decisions and take action. Small launch vehicles from Europe make it possible to transport these satellites and thus form the foundation of...