Terran 1 stands ready to launch.
Los Angeles-based startup Relativity Space says it’s finally ready for prime time and hopes to see what it claims is the largest 3D-printed object ever blast itself into space.
The commercial space company was started by two alumni from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX with the vision to radically simplify the rocket manufacturing process. One of its stated goals is to be able to turn raw materials into rockets in under 60 days.
While the Terran 1 set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday is expendable, Relativity aims to develop a reusable version — the Terran R — like the SpaceX Falcon 9 as soon as 2024.
The launch window for the Terran 1’s maiden voyage opens at 1 p.m. EST. The purely demonstration mission won’t be carrying a customer payload. This debut version’s mass is 85 percent 3D printed, according to the company, which is working to get that figure up to 95 percent soon. Critically, even Relativity’s engines are produced using additive manufacturing processes.
Wednesday’s mission has been dubbed “Good Luck, Have Fun,” a reflection of the company’s shall-we-say… realistic expectations that the flight may not be a total success.
“The rocket-loving engineer in me wants to see us be the first privately-funded AND first liquid-propellant rocket to ever reach orbit on the first try,” Co-Founder and CEO Tim Ellis wrote on Twitter. “But there are a lot of important moments before that which will have me jumping out of my seat.”
“The key inflection in my mind is surpassing Max-Q, about 80 seconds into flight. We have already proven on the ground what we hope to prove in-flight – that when dynamic pressures and stresses on the vehicle are highest, 3D printed structures can withstand these forces. This will essentially prove the viability of using additive manufacturing tech to produce products that fly.”
The Terran 1 isn’t near as capable as the Falcon 9, which can launch large telecom satellites to high orbits and Crew Dragon capsules to the International Space Station, but it does have a bit more payload capacity than other small satellite launchers like Rocket Lab’s Electron.
The Terran 1’s stated price point is also competitive with Rocket Lab and others in terms of price per pound to orbit. For $12 million, the company promises to get 1.3 tons to low-earth orbit.
Wednesday’s launch window will be open for a few hours, and the entire thing will be streamed via the YouTube feed above. If Terran 1 gets off the ground, it’s guaranteed to be interesting and likely to end either in a great success or some spectacular fireworks.
