Countdown’s On: Relativity Space Gears Up for First 3D-Printed Rocket Launch
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
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Relativity Space is gearing up for what could be the biggest week of the seven-year-old startup’s life as it prepares to send its first fully 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket into orbit. The launch will be a vital springboard towards Relativity truly competing with SpaceX for lucrative contracts to send more satellites, cargo, and even crew into space.
The Long Beach-based SpaceX rival secured its Federal Aviation Administration license to fly the Terran 1 in late February for the aptly-named “Good Luck, Have Fun” (GLHF) mission.
GLHF is slated to take off from Relativity’s launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, this Wednesday and the launch window will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST on March 8 – check out the live stream here.
The launch comes at a time, when the ability to churn out rockets that are reusable remains all the rage in the space economy. But being able to 3D-print those rockets and add another layer of speed and recyclability to the process is Relativity’s true advantage. As such, the company’s latest mission will be a vital test of how well this manufacturing process works. If validated, the launch could further signal to the entire space community that industrial 3D-printing is a viable way to make rockets fast.
For the better part of almost two decades now, SpaceX has been the company responsible for relatively affordable satellite launches on reusable rockets. Now, however, we’re at the stage where the entire industry is poised for another overhaul as reusable rockets have become the standard – since the cost of making them is significantly lower than traditional rocket manufacturing, and launch clients are eager to take advantage of it.
Just as ventures like the United Launch Alliance (founded by legacy space players Lockheeed Martin and Boeing in 2006) are pondering a sale in part because they’ve struggled to complete a craft, other upstarts like Relativity are picking up their slack, and customers. One of Relativity’s publicized future launch clients is satellite maker OneWeb, which aims to take off on one of its rockets by 2025.
Another client of Relativity’s could be the federal government – last fall, Relativity’s CEO Tim Ellis told ArsTechnica NASA expressed interest in launching a payload on Terran 1’s second flight. The plan, Ellis said, was to create the smaller Terran 1 as a test vehicle, especially since customers are more eager to use the larger Terran R craft because it can launch upwards of 20 tons in a single launch.
Last summer, the rocket maker announced it’d surpassed $1 billion in contracts for its upcoming Terran R rocket, despite never having flown before. And since its debut in 2015, Relativity’s raised over $1.3 billion and recently used some of that cash to expand into a new manufacturing plant in Long Beach, under a 16 year lease agreement, which implies that it’s planning many more launches in the future.
The startup isn’t taking any cargo into space this launch, but aims to become a strong competitor to SpaceX’s satellite launch business in the future. While its first craft, Terran 1 is small – 110 feet tall, about a quarter of the size of SpaceX’s upcoming massive Starship rocket, which stands at nearly 400 feet tall – Terran R’s payload capacity will be much higher.
“They can’t be the only one disruptive medium- to heavy-lift launch company," Ellis told ArsTechnica about SpaceX. "Relativity is certainly playing to win."
And it’s hitting a full-court press on SpaceX: Relativity will partner with El Segundo startup Impulse Space (founded by SpaceX veteran Tom Mueller) for missions beyond satellite launch. The two will develop an entry capsule, lander and rover for expeditions on Mars. That mission is ambitiously targeting next year for its launch window.
(Disclosure: dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff is an investor in Relativity Space.)
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Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
