Relativity Space unveils fully reusable, 3D-printed Terran R rocket

[Seldom Bucket]

A fully reusable, 3D-printed rocket will be launching satellites to orbit three years from now, if all goes according to plan.

Today (June 8), Relativity Space revealed details of Terran R, a new two-stage rocket that's key to the Southern California startup's bold off-Earth goals, which include helping humanity get a foothold on Mars.

"Terran R is at the cutting edge of rocket innovation and design," Zach Dunn, senior vice president of engineering and manufacturing at Relativity Space, said in a statement. "Fully reusable and entirely 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."

Relativity Space unveils fully reusable, 3D-printed Terran R rocket

The 216-foot-tall rocket is expected to start flying in 2024.

www.space.com

 

[scudsucker]

Seems overly ambitious to me. SpaceX had a number of expected failures, some successes, and some unexpected failures before they became a fairly solid expected success.

These guys have never launched a rocket.

 

[JacobCooper45]

I don't have high hopes for Relativity Space since the only testing they've had is the testing of their 3d printed engine (correct me if I'm wrong). However, the same cannot be said of Skyrora's additive machine. This Scottish company has already built a rocket using this technology and even successfully launched it. That's why I suppose that Relativity Space is far from producing and launching this spacecraft.