The first stage of the Terran 1 rocket was successfully delivered to the hangar of the LC-16 launch complex at Cape Canaveral. In the near future, Relativity Space specialists will start preparing it for launch.
Relativity Space was founded in 2015. Its management has made a bet on the creation of rockets that will be completely printed on 3D printers. According to the designers’ idea, such an innovation will radically speed up the process of building carriers, which, in turn, will significantly reduce their cost. For this purpose, the company has acquired the world’s largest printer designed for metal printing.
Terran 1 is the first Relativity Space orbital rocket. It has a two-stage design. Its height is 35.2 meters, its diameter is 2.3 meters. The rocket will be able to carry up to 1,250 kg of cargo into low Earth orbit (LEO). The cost of one launch is estimated at USD 12 million.
Currently, the first space launch of Terran 1 (Good Luck, Have Fun mission) is scheduled for the summer of 2022. The rocket will not carry any payload. If successful, during its next launch, Terran 1 will launch several NASA-provided cubesats into orbit.
According to the management of Relativity Space, the rocket sample involved in the debut mission consists of 85% by weight of components printed on a 3D printer, including engines. In the future, the company intends to increase this figure to 95%.
You can also read about another unsuccessful launch of a small Astra rocket.
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