Relativity’s Next Generation Launch Vehicle Terran R
Relativity Space is an exciting company trying to reinvent the rocket industry with 3D printing. For years now they have been building and testing various systems including Terran 1, a small lift launch vehicle set to lift off for the first time in only months. This comes in addition to Terran R, a fully 3D printed medium heavy lift launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable.
In the last couple of weeks, Relativity Space has shared more updates on Terran R’s main engine development as well as other important updates. This includes physical Aeon R testing and printing progress, all of which are moving at an impressive pace. Relativity is confident that 3D printing is the future and will help increase reliability, speed, and reduce costs, just to name a few.
By fusing 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robotics, Relativity is printing its rockets’ structure and engines. Meant to reduce touch points and lead times, simplify the supply chain, and increase overall system reliability. Here I will go more in-depth into this next gen rocket, what progress it has made in the last few weeks, what to expect in the future, and more.
Terran R Progress
Even though Relativity is busy with the first launch of Terran 1, the company has been continuing to make impressive progress on Terran R. This includes new 3D printer development, infrastructure contracts, and especially Aeon R engine progress. Only one week ago on the 26th Relativity Space tweeted saying, “Running some more dev tests with Aeon R TCA this week, reaching up to 75% range” To put in perspective the timeline and progress on this engine, only a few weeks prior Relativity CEO Tim Ellis tweeted mentioning, “This may look like all our other engine tests but it’s not… first Aeon R full-scale hot fire test! goal by the team, this was 35% power level of the 268,000 lb max thrust. These brand new 3D printed engines will power Terran R. Massive push to get this done so quickly.”
All of Relativity’s engines including Aeon R are 3D printed, just like the rocket. Terran R will utilize 7 of these engines on the first stage for its thrust. The purpose of 3D printing rather than traditional methods is to try and enhance mission reliability by reducing part count in engine combustion chambers, igniters, turbopumps, reaction control thrusters, and vehicle pressurization systems. In addition, all Aeon engines use propellants of the future, liquid oxygen + liquid natural gas, which are not only one of the best for rocket propulsion, but also the easiest to eventually make on other planets such as Mars. Within the space industry, we are watching a lot of modern and next generation launch vehicles switching to this propellant combination.
Not to mention back in October, through an agreement with NASA, Relativity is expanding its facilities and infrastructure at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The new facilities will primarily support the testing of Relativity’s Aeon R engine. Specifically, Relativity will utilize over 150 additional acres within the Stennis Test Complex, with testing infrastructure for its Aeon R engines being built from the ground up on previously unutilized land north of the A and E Test Complexes. Relativity has begun ground clearing work for several new engine test stands, a full scale second stage stand, office buildings, and a vehicle hangar. Full Aeon R engine tests are tracking to occur later this year at Relativity’s newly announced facility expansions.
Focusing on the rocket itself, created in Relativity’s Factory of the Future, Terran R is 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 has unique aerodynamic features with algorithmically generated and optimized structures. This is thanks to Relativity’s proprietary 3D printing process which 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. Terran R is expected to provide both commercial and government customers affordable access to space, in LEO and beyond. Relativity has big goals including using Terran R to help accommodate the company’s growing pipeline of commercial interest and eventually offering customers a point-to-point space freighter capable of missions between the Earth, Moon and Mars.
Fully Reusable
Now that we know more about the rocket itself and some of the recent progress its made, we can take a closer look at its manufacturing process and the multiple launch contracts it already has secured. In June of last year, Relativity announced that it had signed a multi-year, multi-launch Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with OneWeb, the global space-based communications company. Under the agreement, Relativity will launch OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites on Terran R, starting in 2025. These launches will support OneWeb’s deployment of its Gen 2 satellite network, which will add capacity and fresh capabilities to build upon the initial constellation of 648 satellites the company is currently building out.
Terran R will launch OneWeb missions from Launch Complex 16, Relativity’s site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. With the addition of its multi-launch agreement with OneWeb, Relativity has a total of five signed customers for Terran R, including multiple launches and totaling more than $1.2B in backlog. A significant amount of funding that the company is working to uphold.
Besides engine development, new printers were designed and created specifically for the development and manufacturing of this rocket. With Relativity’s unique approach, they needed just as innovative equipment for the job. Months ago they unveiled the latest iteration of its first-of-its-kind proprietary manufacturing platform, Stargate 4th Generation metal 3D printers. The newest Stargate printer technology defies traditional printing constraints by moving horizontally as it feeds multiple wires into a single print head to print orbital rockets. Relativity is developing customized software and machine learning techniques to allow these printers to print more complex and significantly larger metal products, with improved print speed and reliability. These new printers also radically simplify manufacturing supply chains, as they are capable of printing a rocket with 100x fewer parts in a matter of months.
With faster iteration cycles, Stargate printers are capable of accelerating progress and innovation within the aerospace industry. Most immediately, these printers will serve as the primary manufacturing infrastructure for Terran R production. Relativity believes that longer-term printers offer tremendous value-generating potential for other end-product use cases within the $1T+ aerospace, aviation, energy, and defense industries as the core of a new tech stack for aerospace products. These printers are being setup in the company’s new massive manufacturing facility, named The Wormhole. Aeon R engines, for Terran R, will continue to be produced at the company’s other Long Beach factory, The Portal.
The Wormhole, a former Boeing C-17 manufacturing plant, was secured by Relativity to be its new headquarters in 2021. Currently 33% operational, the factory has several Stargate 4th Generation printers online with more than a dozen printers planned to be producing Terran R components in the coming months. At the full capacity forecasted run rate, each Stargate 4th Generation printer is capable of producing 4 Terran R rockets per year. The remainder of The Wormhole will continue to be built out in phases, bringing more printers online and moving more teams into the company’s headquarters as production for Terran R scales.
Some of the benefits of these new printers include improved print quality and work center efficiency. This is achieved through powerful perception technology for in-process monitoring, which fuses together computer vision, advanced sensors, and real-time telemetry. You also have increased print size capacity through the use of a horizontal print orientation. These new printers remove ceiling height constraints which impact vertical 3D printers. Through horizontal printing, these printers are capable of printing objects up to 120 feet long and 24 feet wide, resulting in an increased volume capacity of 55x its 3rd generation predecessor. Also, reduced print start time and cost are supported by an integrated approach to build setup and print plate preparation. Similarly, reduced entropy, for more consistent, reliable manufacturing can be realized through a configuration which centralizes work centers around Stargate’s robotic automation platform.
Lastly, the company is confident that lighter, more cost-effective aerospace product production through rapid iteration is generated by leveraging Stargate printers and material science advancements developed in Relativity’s in-house metallurgical laboratory. In this case, Relativity has proprietary, high-performance next generation materials which will be used for products printed with these new printers. Most immediately, Terran R will be the first product in a series of products to benefit from the use of lighter materials and a faster production time.
Conclusion
Relativity Space is getting ready for the first launch of Terran 1 and is making impressive progress on Terran R. This includes Aeon R engine development, new 3D printers, various infrastructure, and more. Not to mention a host of funding that has already been secured. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.