On June 8, California-based company Relativity Space revealed plans for its fully reusable, entirely 3D-printed launch vehicle, called Terran R, that can be created from raw materials in 60 days.
Relativity Space describes the Terran R rocket as a two-stage launch vehicle 216 ft (66 m) tall with a 16-ft (4.9-m) diameter and a 16.4-ft (5-m) payload fairing. The rocket, designed for next-gen satellites and multi-planetary travel, will be capable of launching 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) into low-Earth orbit. That’s almost the same payload capacity as SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket, at 22,800 kg (50,265 lb).
The rocket will be equipped with seven of Relativity Space‘s Aeon R 3D-printed rocket engines that each generate 302,000 lb of thrust, while the upper stage will carry one Aeon Vac engine. According to the company, the rocket isn’t the only thing that will be fully reusable – all seven engines, the first and second stages, and the fairing used to protect its payloads – will also be 100% reusable. One question that remains is how it will retrieve all of this following the launch. Such an undertaking won’t be easy.
The Terran R rocket will be manufactured using autonomous robots and artificial intelligence to print the structures and engines. The process results in significantly fewer parts capable of converting raw materials into a standing rocket within only 60 days. In addition, the company pointed out that this approach allows the creation of unique aerodynamic and geometric features that wouldn’t be possible with current production methods.
Tim Ellis, Relativity Space’s CEO and co-founder explained:
Relativity was founded with the mission to 3D print entire rockets and build humanity’s industrial base on Mars. We were inspired to make this vision a reality and believe there need to be dozens to hundreds of companies working to build humanity’s multi-planetary future on Mars.
Scalable, autonomous 3D printing is inevitably required to thrive on Mars, and Terran R is the second product step in a long-term journey Relativity is planning ahead.
Terran R will launch from the company’s site at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 16 in 2024. Relativity Space has already signed its first customer contract for the vehicle. The Terran R is the company’s second rocket. Its first and far smaller rocket is called Terran 1, which will also be 3D printed and is set to launch this year. According to Relativity Space, Terran 1 was the world’s first rocket entirely 3D printed, and now the Terran R rocket follows the lead.
Even though the Terran 1 is 20 times smaller than the Terran R, it has already secured nine contracts from public and private sector customers that plan to use it for launching payloads into space.
Ellis added:
Together with our first rocket Terran 1, our second product, Terran R, will continue to take advantage of Relativity’s disruptive approach to 3D printing – reduced part count, improved speed of innovation, flexibility, and reliability – to bring to market the next generation of launch vehicles.
The company confirmed it had closed a US$650 million (around €549 million) Series E equity funding round that will assist in long-term infrastructure development and scaling of the Terran R program.
