Engine for Poland’s Perun rocket completes final test
Photo. SpaceForest
Gdynia-based company SpaceForest has announced the completion of the final test of its SF-1000 hybrid engine for the sub-orbital Perun rocket. The next flight is scheduled for autumn 2025.
The rocket firm from Gdynia has been running test campaigns on the modified SF-1000 engine for months in preparation for Perun’s next launch. On Monday, 4 August 2025, SpaceForest reported that it had tested the qualification model of the engine and its thrust-vector control system. The unit had been specially adapted for rigorous conditions, including mechanical, thermal, pressure and vibration trials.
The SF-1000 ran continuously for 46 seconds, confirming both performance and safety. Thrust-vector control is essential for course corrections—a capability the Gdynia company stresses is vital for launches from sea-based platforms, which will also be used for Perun missions.
🚀 SF-1000 rocket engine passed its final test! PERUN’s propulsion & TVC systems are ready for the mission. See the power & precision: https://t.co/0LtBLa6ZwR
— SpaceForest (@SpaceForest2) August 4, 2025
SpaceForest has also produced a flight model, identical to the test unit but not subjected to destructive testing. This engine will be integrated with the rest of the rocket ahead of the forthcoming flight. There will be no long wait: the company says Perun will lift off from the Central Air Force Range in Ustka in the autumn of 2025.
The sub-orbital Perun is 11 metres long with a diameter of 45 centimetres. It uses a hybrid propulsion system—the SF-1000 rocket engine burning nitrous oxide and paraffin. The vehicle will be able to carry up to 50 kg of payload to an altitude of 150 km, despite a launch mass of nearly one tonne. Each rocket is designed for at least five flights. So far, SpaceForest has carried out two sub-orbital test flights: Perun reached 22 km in June 2023 and 12 km in October that year.
Perun missions abroad
The successful hybrid-engine test is another milestone for SpaceForest. A few weeks ago the firm signed two agreements for new launch locations outside Poland. The first deal is with EuroSpaceport—a modern spaceport supported by the European Space Agency. Under this partnership, the Polish rocket will launch from a sea platform in the second half of 2026.
A few days later SpaceForest reached an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC), which is building a European spaceport on Santa Maria Island in the Azores. A Perun flight from this site is planned for the first half of 2026.
