Relativity
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Thread Starter
Relativity
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021...are-buying-it/
Relativity has a bold plan to take on SpaceX, and investors are buying it
Relativity Space announced Tuesday morning that it has raised an additional $650 million in private capital and that this money will fuel an ambitious agenda of 3D printing large, reusable rockets.
The new funding will accelerate development of the "Terran-R" launch vehicle, Relativity Chief Executive Tim Ellis said in an interview. This large orbital rocket will be about the same size as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. However, Ellis said, the entire vehicle will be reusable—the first and second stages, as well as the payload fairing. And it will have the capacity to lift 20 tons to low Earth orbit in reusable mode, about 20 percent more than a Falcon 9 booster that lands on a drone ship.
With the Terran-R vehicle, therefore, Ellis said Relativity Space aspires to not just match the remarkably capable Falcon 9 rocket but to exceed its performance.….
Powered by seven main engines, the Terran R vehicle will initially launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Relativity has set a goal to launch in 2024, and Ellis said the company has signed a binding contract for multiple launches with an "anchor customer" he declined to name. Relativity has not publicly released a price for a launch.….
Relativity seeks to do this by pushing forward 3D-printing technology. Ellis intends to disrupt the long-standing aerospace practice of using fixed tooling to manufacture rockets, which are then finished using a hands-on process of adding thousands of parts. Ultimately, Relatively hopes to use what it learns about printing rockets on Earth to additively manufacture habitats and other materials on the surface of Mars.
Even as Relativity Space seeks to augment the efforts by Musk and SpaceX to make humans a multiplanetary species, the company is also directly competing with its much more established rival. If successfully developed, the Terran R would challenge SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for both government and commercial launch contracts.
However, Ellis said it would be a mistake to compare the Terran R rocket to the Falcon 9. The vehicle should be thought of more like a miniature version of SpaceX's Starship rocket, he said, with an upper stage that could transfer payloads through space, to the Moon and perhaps even Mars. In terms of appearances, too, it resembles Starship more than the Falcon 9.
The Terran R vehicle will have a first stage that lands on a drone ship at sea, and the second stage will retain its payload fairing after satellite separation. Then, this combined stack, the second stage and payload fairing, will make a propulsive landing from orbit.
"To my knowledge, we're only the second fully reusable vehicle other than Starship that's even been planned," Ellis said.
The rocket's first stage will be printed from a custom aluminum alloy, and the upper stage will be built from a more exotic, heat-resistant material to withstand re-entry temperatures. For the rocket's first missions, Relativity will seek to bring back the first stage, incorporating full-vehicle reuse over time, Ellis said.
If all of this sounds ambitious, that's because it is, especially for a company that has yet to launch a rocket or even perform an integrated-stage test firing. However, Relativity's steady growth, to about 400 employees now, and total fundraising of $1.34 billion lend some credence to the idea that it may indeed be successful.
Relativity is also getting closer to its first Terran 1 launch attempt. This much smaller rocket has a capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Ellis said the company already has printed 85 percent of the first Terran 1 flight rocket, including the first and second stages. Relativity will ship the second stage to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi "toward the end of summer" for hot fire tests. The company's launch site is due to be activated early this fall.
The goal remains launching the Terran 1 rocket for the first time this year, Ellis said, and the company is "charging hard" toward it…..
Relativity has a bold plan to take on SpaceX, and investors are buying it
Relativity Space announced Tuesday morning that it has raised an additional $650 million in private capital and that this money will fuel an ambitious agenda of 3D printing large, reusable rockets.
The new funding will accelerate development of the "Terran-R" launch vehicle, Relativity Chief Executive Tim Ellis said in an interview. This large orbital rocket will be about the same size as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. However, Ellis said, the entire vehicle will be reusable—the first and second stages, as well as the payload fairing. And it will have the capacity to lift 20 tons to low Earth orbit in reusable mode, about 20 percent more than a Falcon 9 booster that lands on a drone ship.
With the Terran-R vehicle, therefore, Ellis said Relativity Space aspires to not just match the remarkably capable Falcon 9 rocket but to exceed its performance.….
Powered by seven main engines, the Terran R vehicle will initially launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Relativity has set a goal to launch in 2024, and Ellis said the company has signed a binding contract for multiple launches with an "anchor customer" he declined to name. Relativity has not publicly released a price for a launch.….
Relativity seeks to do this by pushing forward 3D-printing technology. Ellis intends to disrupt the long-standing aerospace practice of using fixed tooling to manufacture rockets, which are then finished using a hands-on process of adding thousands of parts. Ultimately, Relatively hopes to use what it learns about printing rockets on Earth to additively manufacture habitats and other materials on the surface of Mars.
Even as Relativity Space seeks to augment the efforts by Musk and SpaceX to make humans a multiplanetary species, the company is also directly competing with its much more established rival. If successfully developed, the Terran R would challenge SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for both government and commercial launch contracts.
However, Ellis said it would be a mistake to compare the Terran R rocket to the Falcon 9. The vehicle should be thought of more like a miniature version of SpaceX's Starship rocket, he said, with an upper stage that could transfer payloads through space, to the Moon and perhaps even Mars. In terms of appearances, too, it resembles Starship more than the Falcon 9.
Fully reusable
.The Terran R vehicle will have a first stage that lands on a drone ship at sea, and the second stage will retain its payload fairing after satellite separation. Then, this combined stack, the second stage and payload fairing, will make a propulsive landing from orbit.
"To my knowledge, we're only the second fully reusable vehicle other than Starship that's even been planned," Ellis said.
The rocket's first stage will be printed from a custom aluminum alloy, and the upper stage will be built from a more exotic, heat-resistant material to withstand re-entry temperatures. For the rocket's first missions, Relativity will seek to bring back the first stage, incorporating full-vehicle reuse over time, Ellis said.
If all of this sounds ambitious, that's because it is, especially for a company that has yet to launch a rocket or even perform an integrated-stage test firing. However, Relativity's steady growth, to about 400 employees now, and total fundraising of $1.34 billion lend some credence to the idea that it may indeed be successful.
Relativity is also getting closer to its first Terran 1 launch attempt. This much smaller rocket has a capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Ellis said the company already has printed 85 percent of the first Terran 1 flight rocket, including the first and second stages. Relativity will ship the second stage to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi "toward the end of summer" for hot fire tests. The company's launch site is due to be activated early this fall.
The goal remains launching the Terran 1 rocket for the first time this year, Ellis said, and the company is "charging hard" toward it…..
Fairly ambitious to say the least.
For all intent and purpose Spacex is massively subsidised by the US government. Unless they achieve similar funding there is zero chance in competing with them.
For all intent and purpose Spacex is massively subsidised by the US government. Unless they achieve similar funding there is zero chance in competing with them.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://dot.la/relativity-space-2659512393.html
Countdown’s On: Relativity Space Gears Up for First 3D-Printed Rocket Launch
Relativity Space is gearing up for what could be the biggest week of the seven-year-old startup’s life as it prepares to send its first fully 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket into orbit. The launch will be a vital springboard towards Relativity truly competing with SpaceX for lucrative contracts to send more satellites, cargo, and even crew into space.
The Long Beach-based SpaceX rival secured its Federal Aviation Administration license to fly the Terran 1 in late February for the aptly-named “Good Luck, Have Fun” (GLHF) mission.
GLHF is slated to take off from Relativity’s launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, this Wednesday and thelaunch window will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST on March 8 – check out the live stream here:
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The launch comes at a time, when the ability to churn out rockets that are reusable remains all the rage in the space economy. But being able to 3D-print those rockets and add another layer of speed and recyclability to the process is Relativity’s true advantage. As such, the company’s latest mission will be a vital test of how well this manufacturing process works.
If validated, the launch could further signal to the entire space community that industrial 3D-printing is a viable way to make rockets fast….
Countdown’s On: Relativity Space Gears Up for First 3D-Printed Rocket Launch
Relativity Space is gearing up for what could be the biggest week of the seven-year-old startup’s life as it prepares to send its first fully 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket into orbit. The launch will be a vital springboard towards Relativity truly competing with SpaceX for lucrative contracts to send more satellites, cargo, and even crew into space.
The Long Beach-based SpaceX rival secured its Federal Aviation Administration license to fly the Terran 1 in late February for the aptly-named “Good Luck, Have Fun” (GLHF) mission.
GLHF is slated to take off from Relativity’s launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, this Wednesday and thelaunch window will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST on March 8 – check out the live stream here:
The launch comes at a time, when the ability to churn out rockets that are reusable remains all the rage in the space economy. But being able to 3D-print those rockets and add another layer of speed and recyclability to the process is Relativity’s true advantage. As such, the company’s latest mission will be a vital test of how well this manufacturing process works.
If validated, the launch could further signal to the entire space community that industrial 3D-printing is a viable way to make rockets fast….
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
The story of @relativityspace and their CEO Tim Ellis is insane:
- Guy works at Blue Origin , discovers 3D metal printing. tries convincing the company for 9 months to 3D print rockets. Everyone says no
- Starts Blue Origin's 3D printing division after getting a meeting with Bezos
- leaves Blue Origin to go start Relativity at 22, cold emails Mark Cuban saying he’s trying to raise a half million seed and asks for $100k. Cuban gives him his whole seed
- gets into YC, no traction, little product. Leaves YC having invented and prototyped the world's largest 3D metal printer, built a rocket engine, and $60M+ in LOIs closed. Group partner was Sama, now they're homies
- Raise $10 mil series A right after YC from Chamath and Social Capital. Raised a total of $1.6B to date
- they print rockets with 100x less parts and have it built in 60 days.
- get $1B+ in launch sales before even getting a rocket fully off the ground
- 2026 they'll have a rocket on par with SpaceX Falcon
- Plans to fly a 3D printing factory to Mars to help colonize the planet and bring 1M+ people there
And oh, Tim is only 32…
- Guy works at Blue Origin , discovers 3D metal printing. tries convincing the company for 9 months to 3D print rockets. Everyone says no
- Starts Blue Origin's 3D printing division after getting a meeting with Bezos
- leaves Blue Origin to go start Relativity at 22, cold emails Mark Cuban saying he’s trying to raise a half million seed and asks for $100k. Cuban gives him his whole seed
- gets into YC, no traction, little product. Leaves YC having invented and prototyped the world's largest 3D metal printer, built a rocket engine, and $60M+ in LOIs closed. Group partner was Sama, now they're homies
- Raise $10 mil series A right after YC from Chamath and Social Capital. Raised a total of $1.6B to date
- they print rockets with 100x less parts and have it built in 60 days.
- get $1B+ in launch sales before even getting a rocket fully off the ground
- 2026 they'll have a rocket on par with SpaceX Falcon
- Plans to fly a 3D printing factory to Mars to help colonize the planet and bring 1M+ people there
And oh, Tim is only 32…
