Relativity Space Inc.’s Terran 1 rocket, which was mainly 3D-printed, failed to reach orbit due to a mid-flight malfunction.
An abnormality occurred after the rocket’s stages separated after it successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday night.
The activation of the upper stage engine appeared to go out early in a webcast of the launch.
Yet, the Relativity team concluded their article on a positive note, stating that the firm gathered important data showing the effectiveness of its 3D-printed manufacturing process.
“Today is a huge win, with many historic firsts,” the business stated in a tweet, adding that the flight data will be analysed and updates provided in the next days.
Relativity had intended to achieve a number of ambitious firsts with this mission, including being the first venture-backed firm to reach orbit on the first attempt, the first 3D-printed commercial rocket to reach orbit, and the first fueled by methane fuel to reach orbit.
“No one’s ever attempted to launch a 3D-printed rocket into orbit,” Arwa Tizani Kelly, technical program manager for test and launch at Relativity, said during the livestream.
“And while we didn’t make it all the way today, we gathered enough data to show that flying 3D-printed rockets is possible.”
Without ever launching a rocket, the Long Beach, California-based firm raised at least $1.3 billion and was recently valued at $4.2 billion in June 2021.
Relativity CEO Tim Ellis previously told Bloomberg News that the business had secured $1.7 billion in launch contracts for a later rocket type, the Terran R, and that it had already sold future Terran 1 flights for around $12 million per flight.
3-D Printed
The Terran 1 rocket, which launched on Wednesday, was 85% 3D-printed, with Relativity aiming for 95% in the future.
According to Relativity, by relying only on 3D printing to build its rockets, the firm can iterate on the design of its rockets more readily while reducing costs and labour.
The business had intended to launch Terran 1 on March 8, but postponed the launch due to temperature difficulties with the rocket’s fuel.
On March 11, a second launch attempt saw the rocket’s engines start but shut down shortly after, resulting in another delay.
Before to the test launch, Ellis stated that the aim was to collect data and, ideally, attain Max-Q – the point in flight where the rocket encounters the maximum pressures and stress.
Terran 1 did not reach orbit, but it did survive Max-Q on this test flight, which Relativity heralded as a huge accomplishment.
“We just completed a major step in proving to the world that 3D-printed rockets are structurally viable,” Kelly said after the rocket reached Max-Q.
Terran 1’s Aeon engines are powered by methane, a relatively new type of rocket fuel used by businesses such as Space Exploration Technologies Inc. and United Launch Alliance LLC.
Both firms have next-generation rockets that use methane fuel but have yet to launch.
According to Relativity and others, while methane is not as efficient as hydrogen, it is easier to handle. It also burns cleaner than another option, kerosene, decreasing waste and making reusability simpler.
Relativity eventually intends to make its rockets totally reusable.
