"From our founding days in Y Combinator just five years ago, we planned on 3D printing Terran 1 and then Terran R -- a 20X larger fully reusable rocket -- on our Factory of the Future platform," said Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Relativity. "Today we are one step closer to this goal. 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. 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 needs to be dozens to hundreds of companies working to build humanity’s multiplanetary 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."”
Created in Relativity’s Factory of the Future by the same printers as Terran 1, Terran R has unique aerodynamic features with algorithmically generated and optimized structures. The company’s proprietary 3D printing process is enabled by software and data-driven manufacturing, exotic 3D printed materials, and unique design geometries that are not possible with traditional manufacturing, driving a faster rate of compounding progress and iteration in the industry. As a two-stage, 216-foot-tall rocket with a 16-foot diameter, and a 5-meter payload fairing, Terran R will be fully reusable including its engines, first stage, second stage, and payload fairing, and will be capable of launching over 20,000kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) in reusable configuration. Terran R will be outfitted with seven entirely 3D-printed Aeon R rocket engines capable of 302,000 lb. thrust each, while its upper stage houses one Aeon Vac engine, with a pathfinder engine having already completed full duration testing at the beginning of this year. Aeon R is a scaled, high pressure version of the gas generator cycle Aeon 1 already planning to fly on Terran 1, and similarly uses cryogenic liquid methane and oxygen propellants and runs with autogenous tank pressurization. Starting in 2024, Terran R will launch from Launch Complex 16, the company’s site at Cape Canaveral, where Terran 1 is also set to launch this year.
Combined with the ability to launch 20X more payload than Terran 1, Terran R provides both commercial and government customers affordable access to space, in LEO and beyond. With low earth orbit, medium earth orbit and geosynchronous satellite constellations representing the largest part of the growing market, Terran R helps accommodate the company’s growing pipeline of commercial interest, including the recent signing of its first anchor customer launch contract for Terran R.
"There’s an organic relationship between 3D-printing and reusability, and it gives us an unparalleled advantage to design the best fully reusable rocket possible," said Ellis. "Over the last year, we found ourselves being asked by the market to accelerate development of our larger launch vehicle, so we knew it was time to double down on our existing plans and scale the Terran R program even faster and build production capabilities at scale sooner."...
..."[E]ntirely 3D printed, Terran R will be well suited to serve customers’ evolving needs in the large satellite constellation industry, while also representing a significant leap towards achieving our mission of building humanity’s industrial base off of Earth."
Disrupting 60 years of aerospace, Relativity’s radically simplified supply chain enables the company to print its rockets with 100x fewer parts in less than 60 days. With rapid software and hardware changes, the same Factory of the Future platform Relativity developed for Terran 1 is capable of scaling to produce Terran R. To date, Relativity has secured multiple contracts across nine customers for Terran 1 from both private and government entities, including a recently announced U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contract, facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 contract with NASA as well as an on-demand satellite launch contracts with Iridium and Telesat. Relativity has now completed printing over 85% of the first Terran 1 flight article, including its first and second stage, keeping momentum for its launch this year.
As the company ramps up production for Terran R, the company has also accelerated its pace of hiring, now at 400+ employees with plans to hire an additional 200 team members this year.
"We believe in a future where interplanetary life fundamentally expands the possibilities for human experience. Our long-term vision is to upgrade humanity’s industrial base on Earth and on Mars," a company release says.
.
