Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Launch 2023-F02 | RS1 | Jan 10, 2023 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
RS1 | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
SaxaVord Spaceport has been chosen by Lockheed Martin and ABL Space Systems for the RS1 rocket’s first UK launch scheduled for later 2022.
ABL’s deployable ground system, GS0, and small launch vehicle, RS1, are being used in a series of ground demonstrations at multiple U.S. military installations.
ABL's RS1 and GS0 systems offer a flexible capability for conducting orbital launch operations at any desired location.
Dan Piemont, ABL co-founder, highlights the optimization of RS1 and GS0 for lean operations to adapt to evolving mission profiles.
Two Kuiper prototype satellites are scheduled to launch in 2022 on ABL Space Systems’ RS1 small launch vehicle, which had not yet conducted a flight.
The RS1 was expected to launch its first mission in early 2022 but suffered a setback in a test accident in January 2022.
Relativity Space’s Terran 1, Firefly’s Alpha, and ABL’s RS1 advertise capabilities to deliver 1,000 kg or more to low Earth orbit.
ABL Space Systems planned to conduct the first launch of its RS1 rocket from Alaska in 2022 and was also considering launches from Cape Canaveral in 2023.
The 2022-01-19 test incident caused no injuries and no damage outside the location where the RS1 upper stage was being tested.
The RS1 payload fairing has completed acceptance testing and will soon be shipped to the launch site.
ABL Space Systems lost the second stage of its RS1 launch vehicle in a test anomaly during testing on 2022-01-19.
The $200,000,000 funding round will fund scaling up production of the RS1.
Lockheed Martin signed a contract in April 2021 for as many as 58 RS1 launches over the next decade and selected ABL to perform the UK Pathfinder launch from a spaceport in the Shetland Islands.
RS1 is designed to place up to 1,350 kg into low Earth orbit at a target price of $12,000,000.
ABL planned to perform an RS1 launch from Kodiak Island, Alaska before the end of 2021 but has not provided an update since October 2021.
Amazon plans to launch its first two Project Kuiper prototype satellites in late 2022 on an ABL Space RS1 small rocket.
ABL Space Systems is preparing to perform its first RS1 launch from Kodiak Island, Alaska, with a launch period extending to 2021-12-15.
ABL Space Systems aims to place KuiperSat-1 and Kuiper-Sat-2 in low Earth orbit by the fourth quarter of 2022 using its RS1 small launch vehicle.
The RS1 launch vehicle can place up to 1,350 kg into low Earth orbit using a launch system called GS0 that can be fully containerized and moved to different locations.
ABL Space Systems plans to use funding proceeds to scale RS1 production to meet projections for eight launches in 2022 and 16 launches in 2023.