{"city":"Augsburg","name":"Rocket Factory Augsburg","slug":"rocket-factory-augsburg","facts":[{"date":"2026-11-01","type":"funding_round","value":"Member states subscribed more than €900 million for launch services and upgraded vehicles","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2026-09-09","type":"product_launch","value":"Committed to launch RFA ONE from SaxaVord","source":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-08-27","type":"contract","value":"ESA European Launcher Challenge contracts signed with Isar Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and PLD Space","source":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-08-27","type":"setback","value":"Investigating a pad-testing issue that forced destacking of the RFA ONE rocket","source":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-08-27","type":"partnership","value":"Signed an ESA contract under the European Launcher Challenge","source":"OHB"},{"date":"2026-08-27","type":"partnership","value":"Selected as a European launch provider under the ESA European Launcher Challenge","source":"OHB"}],"peers":[],"stage":null,"state":"Bavaria","aliases":[],"country":"Germany","domains":[{"why":"Rocket Factory Augsburg sells RFA ONE launch services to commercial and institutional customers for dedicated and rideshare orbital deployments from spaceports.","list":null,"rank":null,"tier":"member","layer":null,"total":52,"domain":"Space","scores":{"leverage":4,"position":4,"progress":9,"firepower":7,"commercial":5,"deployment":5,"production":4,"technology":4},"edition":null,"segment":null}],"founded":null,"signals":[{"date":"2026-10-05","header":"Rocket Factory Augsburg appointed Alexander Dahm as CEO.","outlet":"eeNews Europe"},{"date":"2026-09-24","header":"ESA awarded Rocket Factory Augsburg €2.7 million in additional co-funding for SaxaVord launch infrastructure.","outlet":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-09-12","header":"SaxaVord Spaceport will receive £60 million for additional launch infrastructure.","outlet":"NASASpaceflight"},{"date":"2026-09-09","header":"The UK’s remaining European Launcher Challenge funding allocation is unresolved.","outlet":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-09-09","header":"Rocket Factory Augsburg committed to launch its RFA ONE rocket from SaxaVord.","outlet":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-09-07","header":"ESA awarded ISAR AEROSPACE a €197.8 million European Launcher Challenge contract.","outlet":"FrenchWeb"}],"website":"https://rfa.space","category":"Space · Launch","categories":[{"name":"Launch services","domain":"Space","parent":"Space · Launch"}],"last_round":null,"updated_at":"2026-10-25T23:18:47.108753+00:00","facts_total":36,"positioning":"Rocket Factory Augsburg is an OHB-backed German small-launch company building RFA ONE (30m, 1,300kg to LEO, nine Helix engines), rebuilding after the August 2024 static-fire destruction of stage 1. It delivered both stages to SaxaVord in March 2026 and won a EUR 186.9M ESA Launch Challenge award (August 2026), but its first flight slipped again on an OHB Q2 call over a tank issue, breaking the summer-2026 target. It is pre-revenue; the first-flight date remains the central open question.","sub_category":"Small launch","signals_total":58,"url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/rocket-factory-augsburg","title":"Rocket Factory Augsburg · space, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany · scores, facts and signals · Frontier Tech Intelligence","description":"Rocket Factory Augsburg sells RFA ONE launch services to commercial and institutional customers for dedicated and rideshare orbital deployments from spaceports. Space member (score 52) 58 signals and 36 facts with sources.","publisher":"Frontier Tech Intelligence (Future Frontiers, a trade name of Essential Cognition Inc.)","note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}