‘Sometimes Tests Fail’: Industry Urges Public to Support Failed Rocket Tests Following RFA Explosion

Orbex chief commercial officer John Bone has spoken out in support of rival spaceport SaxaVord in the aftermath of the failed RFA rocket static fire test last month.

Speaking on a panel at the Space Comm Expo Scotland in Glasgow last week, Bone was asked about the public nature of testing and evaluating rocket technology, particularly when things go wrong.

John Bone’s Perspective on Rocket Testing

The question nods to German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)’s static fire test of its stage one rocket on 19 August at SaxaVord, which resulted in an explosion that destroyed the engine.

The test’s result has seen RFA and SaxaVord delay their planned inaugural launch from later this year to 2025.

“That was a test, and it’s important for people to realise… that you don’t find out issues with your complex engineering unless you test them,” Bone said of the incident.

“Testing is absolutely critical and important. We have to do it – and sometimes tests fail, that’s the same in any environment,” he said.

He added that testing is crucial for the launch industry to ensure that every launch is safe and reliable.

“We need to make sure that when it comes to launch, those launches are reliable, as resilient as possible, and sustainable. Our whole business model is based on that,” he said.

Comparison with SpaceX’s Approach to Failures

Overall, Bone encouraged greater public awareness and support of industry, especially when apparent failures occur, which will inevitably become more regular as launches from UK soil become the norm.

“I think SpaceX do a lot better than we do,” he said. “When you see some tests that they’ve done more recently, that perhaps end in a massive explosion, and then they’re all cheering.”

Bone said that these failures show us “number one, how difficult space launch truly is, and number two, we have to test these things and do so in a safe environment”.

Grant Lewis, a Programme Manager for Lockheed Martin – which is collaborating with SaxaVord Spaceport for its UK Pathfinder mission – agreed with Bone’s sentiment, and highlighted that importantly, no one was injured amid the rocket test.

“We were compliant, and we were safe. That’s the purpose of doing these tests,” Lewis said.

“If you’ve got a rocket engine and large tanks of fuel and propellant, the only way you’re going to test it is by turning on and back off again and seeing what happens.”

Again, echoing Bone, Lewis agreed that the Americans take a different approach to failures.

“I think the other dynamic that we have is as a nation, we’re perhaps not as positive as our American colleagues. So a gentle nod is probably more adequate than a high-five when things go wrong, or when we’re demonstrating progress.

“Maybe we’re not primed the same way as some other nations when they look at things, tests, failings, moving forward,”

RFA had planned to fly its RFA ONE rocket for the first time in a matter of weeks, before the explosion delayed the launch.

“We won’t be firing another first stage this year and the first test flight has also been postponed until next year,” RFA spokesperson Jonas Kellner told SpaceNews following the incident.

Meanwhile, Orbex, the Sutherland-based launch service provider and a spaceport operator, is also pushing towards an inaugural vertical launch in 2025.