German start-up Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) watched as one of its rocket engines exploded during a nine-engine test at Britain’s new spaceport in Shetland. The company hopes to launch the UK’s first-ever vertical rocket into orbit.
While it may at times seem easy to launch rockets into space given the regularity at which launches occur, even a seasoned company such as SpaceX has had its failures. One instance was in late 2023 when it had to watch as its Starship exploded over the Gulf of Mexico during a flight test. A Chinese company recently had to watch as one of its rockets slammed into a mountainside when a static fire test went awry. So, while the rocket engine explosion, caused by what RFA referred to as an “anomaly,” in the UK last week was spectacular to watch, it is not an uncommon occurrence.
Shortly after the explosion, the company issued a statement, remarking, “The launch pad has been saved and is secured, the situation is under control, and any immediate danger has been mitigated.”
The anomaly caused one engine to catch fire, with subsequent large flames being emitted along with plumes of smoke. At one point, the entire test pad was engulfed in flames. The company later reported the explosion was likely caused by kerosene being pushed out by the engine, fueling the fire and leading to part of the structure collapsing.
In a video posted on X, an RFA spokesperson remarked, “The fire suppression systems… were simply not adequately sized to deal with this kind of damage.” The spokesperson added, “Unfortunately, this has happened in that very important stage test and unfortunately this has taken out the entire stage.”
UPDATE on our S1 test anomaly!
Our first stage is gone – but we have collected a significant amount of data and film footage. After reviewing it, we want to share some insights into the technical analysis, preliminary conclusions and our next steps ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FnGHjTCS2g
— Rocket Factory Augsburg (@rfa_space) August 23, 2024
The failure came just three months after the company carried out its first rocket engine test successfully. During that test, RFA fired the engines for eight seconds before shutting them down.
While the rocket engine explosion and subsequent damage to the test structure will delay future testing, the company says it remains committed to launch as quickly as possible.