Relativity Space Secures Significant Launch Contracts For Terran R
Relativity Space is a unique company that has very ambitious goals for the future of accessing space. This involves not only a different approach to manufacturing within the industry but also plans to reach Mars and beyond. Over the past few months, the company has been especially busy as they prepare for the first launch of Terran 1.
However, in addition to this big upcoming milestone, the company is also continuing to make progress on its even more ambitious project Terran R. This launch vehicle is a lot bigger and intended to be fully reusable. Specifically, only a few days ago Relativity announced Terran R launch contracts across 5 different customers.
These contracts totaled over 1.2 billion dollars in total which is a significant amount of money, even for a rocket company. This funding is great news for the company and helps secure the future development of Terran R. As you can imagine, it is not cheap developing a next generation launch vehicle. Here I will go more in-depth into some of the recent updates from Relativity, the launch vehicle itself, and what to expect in the near future.
Recent Updates
Only a few days ago Relativity tweeted saying, “Excited to announce we’ve signed 5 customers, totaling $1.2B+ in backlog, for Terran R, our fully reusable, entirely 3D printed rocket – including a multi-year, multi-launch agreement w/@OneWeb to launch their LEO satellites, starting in 2025.” Not long after, CEO of Relativity Space Tim Ellis clarified and mentioned, “BIG NEWS and so excited to announce we have reached $1.2b+ of Terran R launch contracts across 5 customers – with @OneWeb and their amazing team being our anchor customer supporting their Gen 2 satellite constellation. Huge vote of confidence and we can’t wait to deliver.”
In addition to these tweets, Tim Ellis highlighted that, “To have such large contracts signed before launching, and before even launching Terran 1, I think is really speaking to the confidence that people have in the team and in our approach.” He finished by saying, “We keep hearing from customers that there needs to be a second, quickly moving, disruptive launch company that has low prices, is reliable and is able to scale production quickly and actually serve what is now becoming an even more kind of supply-constrained market.” The contract date of 2025 is ambitious but Relativity is confident in its capability to meet the requirement. The company estimates that a first Terran R orbital test flight could happen in 2024 with official launches soon after. OneWeb, which is a big customer in this recent deal, is a communications company that aims to build broadband satellite Internet services. The company is headquartered in London, has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility in Florida. As time goes on Relativity will likely continue to provide updates on the progress for these future missions and Terran R.
Terran R
Now that we know more about some of the recent Terran R progress and future launches, we can take a closer look at the launch vehicle itself and the manufacturing process. Terran R is a two-stage, 216-foot-tall rocket with a 16-foot diameter, and a 5-meter payload fairing. Terran R is intended to be entirely reusable and capable of launching 20,000kg to low Earth orbit. Created in Relativity’s Factory of the Future, by the same printers as Terran 1, Terran R has unique aeronautical features and complex structures. The company’s proprietary 3D printing process utilizes software-driven manufacturing, exotic materials, and unique design geometries that are not possible in traditional manufacturing, driving unprecedented innovation and disruption in the industry. By fusing 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robotics, Relativity is printing its rockets’ structure and engines, significantly reducing touch points and lead times, simplifying the supply chain, and increasing overall system reliability. Relativity points out they can create rockets, Terran 1 and Terran R, from raw material within 60 days.
Looking at the design, Relativity used nature as inspiration for Terran R. Specifically, Terran R has unique aerodynamic features with algorithmically generated and optimized structures. Relativity’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. An example could be the grid fins which resemble wings from nature. “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 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.”
Taking a closer look at the company’s vision, Relativity believes in a future where interplanetary life fundamentally expands the possibilities for human experience. In realizing this audacious vision, their long-term goal is to upgrade humanity’s industrial base on Earth and on Mars. They believe in a more inspired future with people thriving on Earth and on Mars. In the early days of settlement, intelligent automation and lightweight, compact 3D printing are fundamental technologies needed to quickly establish a new society with scarce resources. This all goes back to Terran R and features such as full reusability. The goal is for Terran R to provide both commercial and government customers affordable access to space, in LEO and beyond. Terran R helps accommodate the company’s growing pipeline of commercial interest and will also eventually offer customers a point-to-point space freighter capable of missions between the Earth, Moon, and Mars.
Terran R will be outfitted with seven 3D-printed Aeon R rocket engines capable of 302,000 lb. thrust each, while its upper stage houses one Aeon Vac engine. 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 summer. Combined with the ability to launch 20X more payload than Terran 1, Terran R provides increased access to space. With satellite technology advancements, demand for bandwidth soaring, and satellite constellations representing the largest part of the growing market, Terran R was developed to accommodate the growing demand for large constellation launch services, and the company’s growing interest. As a testament to its commercial viability, around 1 year ago, Relativity signed its first anchor customer launch contract for its Terran R vehicle. With continued high demand for its Terran 1 launch vehicle, Relativity has secured nine launch contracts from both private and government customers, including a newly 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 contract with Iridium.
As partially mentioned prior, Terran R will utilize the company’s Aeon engines. The engines, Aeon 1, Aeon R, and Aeon Vac, are 3D-printed, enhancing mission reliability by reducing part count in engine combustion chambers, igniters, turbopumps, reaction control thrusters, and vehicle pressurization systems. All Aeon engines use propellants of the future, liquid oxygen plus liquid natural gas, which are not only the best for rocket propulsion, but also the easiest to eventually make on Mars. To date, Aeon has completed 500 plus test fires.
Finally, you have the printers and infrastructure making the unique manufacturing process a reality. Relativity’s proprietary Factory of the Future centers on Stargate, the world’s largest metal 3D printers. The company points out that for 60 years, aerospace manufacturing has relied on large factories, fixed tooling, complex supply chains, and extensive manual labor to build costly rockets comprised of 100,000 plus parts in 2 years or longer. All of which working towards the future of accessing space with rockets such as Terran R.
Conclusion
Relativity Space has been especially busy over the past few months. Right now the company is only weeks away from the first orbital test flight of Terran 1. In addition, they recently announced a list of contracts totaling over $1.2 billion for Terran R in the future. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.