Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) makes history as the first to get European launch licence

In a historical record not just for the UK, but for the European continent, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has officially received its spaceflight operator licence from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

In combination with the spaceport licence and the range control licence from SaxaVord Spaceport, it now has all three critical regulatory licences required for a test flight in 2025 from Scotland.

The licensing process looked at a number of key factors. This included how safety is maintained, international obligations are met and environmental mitigations are made for RFA’s proposed mission.

This marks an incredible turnaround from the RFA accident in 2024 when a rocket engine blew up during testing.

Despite this, it is preparing for orbital launch later this year. The fact that Scotland's spaceports are competing strong against other well established sub-orbital launch sites in Norway and Sweden demonstrates that the ambition of the UK launch sector is supported strongly by local and national government.

Marks & Clerk are proud partners of the Space Network (first founded in 2022 as the Scottish Space Network). We look forward to helping UK space companies to generate more value from their space technology intellectual property portfolios. 

For more information about launch statistics in 2024, check out our other article and feel free to reach out at any time, we're always happy to talk space!