An artist’s rendition of a Terran R rocket launching.
Relativity Space
Relativity Space is shifting its strategy in an try and speed up work on the reusable rocket it’s developing, the corporate announced on Wednesday. Chief among the many changes: adjusting its manufacturing approach to mix its 3D-printing-first approach with traditional metal-bending techniques.
The corporate goes “all in” on developing its larger Terran R rocket, CEO Tim Ellis told CNBC, effectively shelving its Terran 1 vehicle after one launch.
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“We’re putting all energy and resources on getting Terran R to market as quickly as possible after which attending to a better rate of reuse for scaling the launch volumes,” Ellis said.
Last month, the debut flight of Relativity’s 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket launched from Florida – but failed to succeed in orbit after a difficulty about three minutes into the mission. While Ellis hailed the inaugural launch as a hit that passed numerous milestones, he noted that it meant Relativity “had some decisions to make” about whether to proceed constructing and launching Terran 1 rockets.
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The corporate is currently talking to NASA about an upcoming mission that it not expects to fly on Terran 1. It’s already moved other customers over to Terran R.
Although Relativity expects it would be one other three years until Terran R debuts, with a goal goal of 2026, the corporate has to date won launch deals from seven customers value over $1.6 billion for future flights on the rocket.
“We’ve won 100% of the industrial contracts we have gone after to this point against other competitors,” Ellis emphasized.
Changes for Terran R
An outline of Terran R’s design update as of April 2023.
Relativity Space
Relativity made a reputation for itself with its 3D-printing approach to manufacturing rockets, constructing massive additive manufacturing machines. The corporate 3D-printed about 85% of the mass of its Terran 1 rocket, and previously planned to get that number above 90%. Ellis declined to specify what percent of Terran R will now be 3D-printed in the corporate’s recent “hybrid manufacturing approach,” emphasizing as an alternative that the shift is to prioritize its timeline to first launch.
“We’re using printing in every single place else strategically to essentially reduce the vehicle complexity,” Ellis said. “We will actually take the more easy, straight sections of the vehicle and construct them traditionally and never have an enormous decrement to the quantity of difficulty that it’s to construct.”
“Our long-term vision has not modified … we’re still super focused on additive development,” Ellis added.
The corporate has raised over $1.3 billion in capital to this point at a $4.2 billion valuation. It continues to expand its footprint — with its headquarters and factory in California, engine testing facilities in Mississippi, and the launch site in Florida.
Terran R is planned to be a 270-foot-tall rocket that may launch either 23,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit in a reusable mode, or as much as 33,500 kilograms if the booster isn’t landed for reuse. That may put Terran R within the “heavy” side of the rocket market, and above SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket by way of capability.
Relativity plans so as to add on to its existing facility in Cape Canaveral in preparation for Terran R launches. The rockets might be built at its 1-million-square-foot factory in Long Beach, called “The Wormhole.” Ellis estimated Relativity might be capable of manufacturing upwards of 45 rockets a 12 months from that facility.
Constructing off Terran 1
Central to Ellis’ confidence in Terran R is the information and experience that Relativity gained from Terran 1’s launch.
“I feel there’s a powerful argument that we proved greater than some other company has in that first flight,” Ellis said.
The corporate’s Terran 1 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Mar. 22, 2023.
John Kraus / Relativity Space
Terran R builds upon the technologies that Relativity flew with Terran 1, with similarities starting from its “methalox” propellants to the software, ground infrastructure and more.
Although Terran 1 didn’t make it to its goal orbit, the rocket did reach space. Alongside the FAA, the corporate continues to analyze the reason for the issue with the second stage of the rocket. Relativity shared its preliminary findings: It discovered the foremost valves of the second stage’s engine opened more slowly than expected, and a suspected vapor bubble within the engine’s oxygen pump appears to have also kept it from reaching full power.
“There’s just no option to test exactly such as you fly,” Ellis said.
