First ever in Europe: full-duration upper stage hot-fired at Esrange Space Center by RFA
For the first time in Europe, and second time worldwide, a privately developed staged combustion upper stage has been successfully hot-fired. The test was performed at Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden, owned and operated by Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), by German rocket company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA). The upper stage hot-fired for a full duration of 280 seconds at the company’s testbed facility.
A milestone for SSC and the unique testbed infrastructure of Esrange.
Esrange is today one of few places worldwide with the capability to host full duration stage testing of flight article of orbital rockets. Several testbed facilities are currently operational at the base, developed by SSC according to each rocket partner’s needs and specifications.
“After a record speed development of this testbed facility for RFA, we are proud to host Europe’s first privately developed staged combustion upper stage test at Esrange. This was made possible thanks to a combination of the testbed facility's unique capabilities but primarily thanks to the exceptional expertise and dedication of the SSC team together with our fantastic collaboration with RFA,” says Philip Påhlsson, VP Strategy and Innovation Science Services at SSC.
For RFA, this marks the most important milestone so far in the development of the Helix engine: a total of 280 seconds of steady-state combustion tested the functionality and compatibility of all upper stage systems, including fueling processes, fuel management, pressurization, sensors, propulsion and control.
”The upper stage performed flawlessly and ran through the full 310s autosequence without tripping any redlines. The engine run-time was 280s and no damages could be identified after the test. This is the first successful qualification test of our upper stage, and we are super proud of our team for designing, building and testing in such a time- and cost-efficient fashion. The data we have collected will allow us to tune all stage sub-systems, for both the upper and first stage. Our next big step is the first stage hot firing test. We are approaching our first launch with great strides, it is getting serious,” says Dr. Stefan Brieschenk, the company's Chief Operating Officer.
More information about the test: https://www.rfa.space/280-seconds-rfa-completes-full-duration/
Contacts:
Philip Ohlsson, SSC Head of Communications, +46 707 217 026, philip.ohlsson@sscspace.com
Jonas Kellner, RFA Head of Marketing, +49 821 999 576 21, jonas.kellner@rfa.space
About SSC: Swedish Space Corporation helps Earth benefit from Space. Since the 70’s, SSC has helped space organizations, companies, other commercial actors and research institutes to get access to Space. Our products and services enable successful space projects within Earth observation, telecommunications, security, meteorology, navigation and positioning, scientific research and other applications. Through our local presence on all continents and more than 600 committed employees, we offer specialist expertise in satellite communications, spacecraft operations, rocket and balloon systems, launch services, flight test services and data analytics. Among our strongest assets are Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden, set to become first to launch satellites from continental Europe in 2023, as well as one of the world's largest commercial ground station networks for satellite communications. Via our subsidiary GlobalTrust, we also leverage satellite data and analytics applications to help companies, organizations and governments to develop and deliver sustainability strategies. https://sscspace.com/
About RFA: Rocket Factory Augsburg, RFA, was founded in 2018 with the vision to enable data generating business models in space to better monitor, protect and connect our planet Earth. Against this background, the company’s goal is to offer launch services of up to 1.300kg into low Earth orbits and beyond on a weekly basis at unmatched prices. With this, RFA wants to democratize access to space and reduce the launch costs in the space industry. The RFA ONE launch service combines three key competitive advantages: A customer focused service with precise in-orbit delivery and a high degree of mission flexibility through its Redshift OTV; at a highly competitive price; made possible by superior staged combustion technology, low-cost structures and usage of industrial components. https://www.rfa.space/
