Relativity Space Gains New West Coast Launch Site and 5th Contract For its 3D Printed Rocket
Jun 24 2020
A company that has its sights set on 3D printing rockets on Mars has gained another literal foothold toward making its launches reality.
Los Angeles-based Relativity Space announced Wednesday an agreement with the U.S. Air Force's 30th Space Wing to develop rocket launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Building 330 and an adjacent area, bringing its launch capabilities to both coasts. The military base, which is also used by SpaceX for launches, is located roughly 2 ½ hours north of Los Angeles.
<p>Relativity co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis said in an interview with dot.LA that the agreement, which took years of "intense vetting," is evidence of "signs of confidence from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. government" regarding the company's 3D printed rocket technology.</p><p>Relativity also said Wednesday it had secured a new launch contract with Iridium Communications Inc. that takes advantage of the new West Coast launch site at Vandenberg to deliver its satellites into orbit using Relativity's 3D printed launch vehicle Terran 1.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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</p><p>The contract with Iridium is for up to six launches to deploy spare satellites from storage into low-Earth orbit if needed. The constellation of 66 satellites provides low-frequency satellite connectivity for people and things on Earth. These launches aren't planned to take place before at least 2023.<br/></p><p>Matt Desch CEO of Iridium said in a statement that though the satellite constellation is operating well, "it's prudent to have a cost-effective launch option for future spare delivery."</p><p>Relativity already has a launch site agreement at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex-16 that was granted last year, and an exclusive-use agreement for rocket engine test sites at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The company has done more than 300 individual engine tests, Ellis said.</p><p>But Vandenberg specifically helps open up the ability to launch rockets on a southern trajectory over the open ocean into polar orbits and sun-synchronous orbits. Sun-sync orbits are helpful for satellites engaged in Earth imaging, analyzing weather patterns and surveillance because they keep the angle of sunlight on Earth's surface consistent to track changes over time.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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</p><p>The B330 site is also strategic because it is the southernmost spot on Vandenberg, which means that Relativity's rockets would not fly over any active launch sites and the company anticipates having the fewest scheduling conflicts from there.<br/></p><p>"We are impressed by Relativity's innovative approach to reinventing aerospace manufacturing via 3D metal printing and robotics," said Col. Anthony J. Mastalir, the 30th Space Wing commander, in a statement. "We look forward to working with Relativity as its West Coast launch partner for many years to come."</p><p>The 30th Space Wing of the Air Force also manages the Department of Defense's space and missile testing.</p><p>Relativity boasts the largest 3D metal printer in the world that uses a specially developed custom alloy that's stronger than traditional aluminum to build its Terran 1 rocket. A traditional rocket takes years to make and is comprised of about 100,000 individual parts, only a single digit percentage of it may be 3D printed. By comparison, Relativity's rocket is made up of less than 1,000 parts with about 95% of the rocket 3D printed and can be built from raw materials to launch-ready in less than 60 days, Ellis said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Relativity's New Partnership with Iridium Communications</small>
</p><p>Though they haven't yet launched a 3D printed rocket, the new contract with Iridium is the company's fifth publicly named launch customer — along with Momentus, Spaceflight, mu Space and Telesat — since April 2019. Relativity declined to discuss other contracted public-private partnerships that it has signed.<br/></p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has not seemed to slow Relativity's launch plans; it's still on track for its first orbital launch by the end of 2021 out of Florida, Ellis said. One factor in keeping those launch plans through the pandemic: the company's Stargate factory and Terran 1 rocket are all designed, built and operated in the United States.</p><p>In February, the company announced it would be moving its staff to a new, 120,000 square feet headquarters in Long Beach that will be the site of the first-ever autonomous rocket factory.</p><p>During the pandemic, the company has added roughly 25 new members to its team, bringing the total employee count to 165 people. Its staff members have been working from home since early March with a single person per building at the factory who has been able to run 3D printers remotely.</p><p>Among the new hires in June are new CFO Mo Shahzad, who left his role as CFO at The Honest Company, and Zachary Dunn, who was a SpaceX executive responsible for production and launch and is now Relativity's VP of factory development for the new 3D printing factory.</p><p>Relativity closed its $140 million series C funding round led by Bond and Tribe Capital in October. The company is also backed by investors Playground Global, Y Combinator, Social Capital, and Mark Cuban.</p><p><em>__</em></p><p><em>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/latams" target="_blank"><em>@latams</em></a><em>. You can also email me at tami(at)dot.la, or ask for my Signal.</em></p>
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Update: Today's launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon was postponed until May 30 due to concerns about the weather.
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Mission managers have cleared the final paperwork for SpaceX's first-ever crewed launch, aimed at sending two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
The stage is now set for the first NASA mission to send humans into orbit from U.S. soil since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011.
<p>Only one big question remained after today's launch readiness review, which looked at all the technical issues surrounding Wednesday's scheduled liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.</p><p>"We're burning down the final paper," Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, told reporters during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vT5mx65Ig&t=32m" target="_blank">teleconference</a>. "All the teams were 'go,' and we're continuing to make progress toward our mission. Now the only thing we need to do is figure out how to control the weather."</p><p>The weather forecast <a href="https://www.patrick.af.mil/Portals/14/Weather/Falcon%209%20Dragon%20Crew%20Demo-2%20L-2%20Forecast%2027%20May%20Launch.pdf?ver=2020-05-25-080221-657" target="_blank">called for a 60% chance of scrubbing the launch</a> due to concerns about rain and clouds at the launch site. The weather was rainy at the Cape, but Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer for the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, said the outlook was improving.</p><p>"If I was to issue the forecast today, right now, we would probably be down to a 40% chance of violation. … So we have some hope for launch day," </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">SpaceX Crew Dragon Is the Most Anticipated Launch of the Year</small>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/xEJi3ewHV1g?t=2" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
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</p><p>McAleenan said.In addition to the conditions at the launch site, mission managers have to consider what the weather is like at sea, in case an emergency comes up and the astronauts have to abort the flight. That part of the forecast is also iffy, McAleenan said. He said the backup days for launch, May 30 and 31, had a "better probability of launching, and lower risk numbers across the Atlantic."<br/></p><p>The countdown clock officially begins running on Tuesday morning — but the two astronauts who are due to ride the Dragon, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, will have a relatively light day, consisting of technical briefings mixed with rest and relaxation.</p><p>On Wednesday, they'll get a wakeup call at 9 a.m. ET, have breakfast and then receive a weather briefing at about 12:20 p.m. ET. After the briefing, they'll put on their custom-fitted SpaceX spacesuits, walk out from the Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at about 1:15 p.m., climb into the Dragon capsule at 2 p.m., and close the hatch at 2:38 p.m.</p><p>Lueders said launch-pad workers have been "nose-swabbed and tested" to check for COVID-19, and they'll be outfitted in a way that's meant to protect Hurley and Behnken from infection. "They look like ninjas there — because, you know, with the SpaceX folks, you've got to have it be looking cool," she joked.</p><p>Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president for build and flight reliability, said the launch team will be closely monitoring the weather forecast for the launch site as well as the ocean recovery zones as the clock ticks down. A crucial decision point will come at T-minus-45 minutes, when the go-ahead is due to be given for arming the Dragon's launch escape system and fueling up the Falcon 9 rocket with highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen.</p><p>If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9 will light up its engines at 4:33 p.m. ET (1:33 p.m. PT), kicking off what's expected to be a 19-hour flight to the space station. Along the way, the astronauts will get a couple of chances to steer the Dragon manually using touchscreen panels. But for most of the flight, including the station docking, the Dragon will be under autonomous control.</p><p>Assuming that the weather cooperates, the next big uncertainty has to do with how long SpaceX's first spacefliers will stay at the station.</p><p>The primary purpose of the mission is to demonstrate the Dragon's performance for future crewed flights. But right now there are only three other crew members at the space station, which typically has a crew of six. Hurley and Behnken may be called upon to put in a tour of duty that's longer than originally scheduled — and help out with tasks including a couple of spacewalks.</p><p>"That schedule is a little bit in flux," Koenigsmann acknowledged. "Obviously NASA will tell us when they're ready to go, anywhere between … six weeks and 16 weeks."</p><p>The flight back will bring the astronauts down to an Atlantic Ocean splashdown and recovery. In an interview with Aviation Week & Space Technology, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the return was the part of the mission that he was most worried about — due to the asymmetry of the Dragon's back shell.</p><p>"We've looked at this six ways to Sunday, so it's not that I think this will fail," <a href="https://twitter.com/Free_Space/status/1264649197141311488" target="_blank">Aviation Week's Irene Klotz quoted Musk as saying</a>. "It's just that I worry a bit that it is asymmetric on the backshell, and you could have a strange sort of roll coupling as you come in if you turn too much. I think this is low risk, but that's what I would put as my biggest concern."</p><p>When Koenigsmann was asked about Musk's comments, he said he didn't have any special concerns in advance of the launch. "I'm at the point right now where I'm actually worried about the weather, and that's a good sign," Koenigsmann said.</p><p><em>Love space and science? <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/space-newsletter/" target="_blank">Sign up for GeekWire's Space & Science email newsletter</a> for top headlines from Alan Boyle, GeekWire's aerospace and science editor.</em></p>
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When now-former SpaceX Dragon mission director Erin Beck became pregnant with her first child roughly four years ago, the company's "generous" benefits were just not enough.
She wanted to be home full time with her daughter and arrange her work life flexibly so she could raise her, but with the loss of income from leaving her day job she couldn't afford to.
That's how the Wana Family Network was born in 2017. Beck, who's founder and CEO of the Los Angeles-based public benefit corporation, looked to the parent-helping-parent, cooperative kind of childcare she was raised on as a kid. But she couldn't find any such app.
<p>So she decided to build one. And it had been growing rapidly, by about 500 families a month without any advertising, prior to COVID-19. The network, where parents can use points to trade for help with childcare duties, is home to 25,000 families worldwide and has offered essential services workers a free way to get childcare during the pandemic.</p><p>By the end of 2019, Wana Family Network was able to expand through acquisitions with some of the largest players in the cooperative childcare space, including their flagship product <a href="https://www.mykomae.com/a-letter-from-erin-beck-komaes-new-momma/" target="_blank">Komae</a> out of Ohio, founded by Amy Husted and Audrey Wallace, and <a href="https://wanafam.ly/2020/01/17/wana-goes-global-with-acquisition-of-sitster" target="_blank">Sitster</a> in London, founded by Laura Farnsworth. They also hired the team of a fourth company, L.A.-based <a href="https://wanafam.ly/2020/02/14/wana-activates-the-helpers-with-helpkin/" target="_blank">Helpkin</a>, founded by Shar Ghoudsifar, that is no longer in business.</p><p>"This brain trust has allowed us to iterate so much faster than any single one of our companies could do before," Beck said.</p><p>But the timing has also been a little tough.</p><p>It's perhaps an irony that the company Beck created is predicated on parents that have to leave home for work. COVID-19 has changed all of that. With the vast majority of families at home amid the pandemic, usage of childcare services dropped in April by 80% to 90%. The network has had to work hard to be creative and stay afloat as non-essential workplaces closed their doors in March. Wana Family began by offering essential workers the ability to get free childcare.</p><p>"It's been slow, and this is across the board, for any childcare companies that we have seen," Beck said</p><p>With the phased reopening of some businesses in California, it's unclear how the network's usage might change, as traditional childcare centers have been <a href="https://dot.la/search/?q=childcare" target="_self">hit even harder by the closures</a>. Beck said the company is now offering free childcare to all parents and has seen an uptick in families joining, up from 10% to 50% of the activity they would have seen pre-COVID. But that hasn't yet translated to an uptick in usage.</p><p>"What this tells us is that parents are getting prepared and examining their options so they will be ready as their city reopens and they return to work or more normal daily life," Beck said. "We're here and ready!"</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Wana Family Network founder Erin Beck</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">BKM Photography</small></p><p>Beck said that a babysitting co-op has turned out to be an excellent closed system for babysitting in the time of COVID, where you often have coworkers trading care with other coworkers.<br/></p><p>"You're limiting the (viral) exposure into or out of that organization by having those coworkers trading time," Beck said.</p><p>It's also a way for kids to socialize with the kids of other parents with perhaps similar exposure risks.</p><p>Wana Family forgoes the traditional 9-to-5 office with nearly the entire team of nine or so staff working part-time and some keeping other jobs on the side. The arrangement is an homage to the company's roots — to cater to the flexibility parents need by allowing them to choose the number of hours appropriate for them and decide what the best skills they have to offer are. The idea is for Wana Family to have an employee's " top 10% at the top 10% of their time."</p><h2>How it works</h2><p>Generally speaking, the network functions through a point system. Parents trade their time babysitting for points, rather than dollars. Those points can be used to "purchase" time for someone to babysit their own kids. If a family doesn't babysit for other families, they will ultimately run out of points and to continue participating in the platform they can buy more.</p><p>The company charges $5 a point, which equates to roughly $5 for an hour of babysitting, way below the typical childcare rate that's between $15 and $30 an hour. During the pandemic, parents using the app have not been charged any points.</p><p>For parents who are worried about in-person babysitting, they can arrange for "virtual babysitting" via Komae's platform.</p><p>"Maybe you're doing charades with your friend's child on their iPad when their mom needs to take a phone call or just wants to take a shower, but just doesn't want to leave their three-year-old unsupervised," said Gabrielle D'Addario, a parent of a 4-year-old preschool boy, Charlie, and 6-year-old kindergarten girl, Gracie.</p><p>D'Addario, who's director of the Silicon Beach Parents Group in Playa Vista, Calif., set up a group of parents on the app last month who could communicate together and share "virtual babysitting" via the app. The app can also be used to create virtual playdates for kids.</p><p>"Everybody's in the same boat right now, just having your kids home 24/7 it's so hard, especially work from home parents," said D'Addario, who's a creative director for a media company. "Like, oh my God, my kids want my attention all the time. I used to send them over to a friend's house to do a playdate, but now you can't do that."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI3MTU3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjU4MDU2NH0.KioPWuaFvZaLRTGUqqw0M-oX-LujoKxpNQCaIkn-h_8/img.jpg?width=980" id="b9ffd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="374529991c40294cf9a332edce6f53e4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Beck's child during a virtual playdate
<p>Wana Family Network has also developed new brand partnerships with parent and women-owned small companies with special gifts that can be purchased using points that parents have earned, for those who have an abundance of them to spare. Some examples include a white noise maker for young children as well as a stuffed "pillow pet" that can be home for a kid's pajamas and guard their bed by day while teaching them to clean up. Those brand partners are ultimately going to be charged a marketing fee for getting the word out about their items.</p><p>The company had planned to hold off on introducing a marketing fee, but the pandemic severely disrupted its intended revenue streams. So, Wana Family has sped up the timeline for introducing such fees on the brand marketing side, Beck said.</p><p>Wana Family received a check from the Paycheck Protection Program on Monday. They have not yet heard back regarding the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Beck and other founders in the famtech world, including Tot Squad, Mahmee, HopSkipDrive, Special X, Robyn, Needed, WRK/360, UrbanSitter, Winnie, Motherly, Milk Stork and others, have been leaning on each other for support and to trade survival tips like how to get PPP funding approved.</p><p>Wana Family and a handful of other such companies have also created a <a href="http://covidchildcarecalifornia.com/" target="_blank">special single-source resource</a> for parents in California who need help with childcare during the pandemic. The group has been working with <a href="https://www.lacountycovidvolunteers.org/" target="_blank">USC</a> and <a href="https://www.lacovidvolunteers.org/" target="_blank">UCLA</a> chapters of the larger <a href="https://www.mncovidsitters.org/" target="_blank">MN COVIDsitters</a>, which matches medical personnel with student volunteers for childcare support.<br/></p><p>__</p><p>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/latams" target="_blank">@latams</a>. You can also email me at tami(at)dot.la, or ask for my Signal.</p>Related Articles Around the Web
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