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Relativity Space is aiming for March to fly its Terran vehicle from Florida. It’s being produced by 3D printing company Relativity Space.
This Wednesday, March 8 launch, which is also known as “Good Luck, Have Fun” (“GLHF”), marks the Terran 1 rocket’s 110-foot debut launch. It will also mark the company’s first overall launch. Liftoff will take place at 1 p.m. ET.
Relativity’s pad will be at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 16. This Launch Complex 16 has been through extensive renovations and upgrades ever since it was leased by the Air Force in 2019. The rocket will not fly with any customer payload because it is a demonstration mission.
Relativity originally planned to test fire the Aeon-1 engines of the rocket before it flew. However, Relativity released a statement saying that teams had done enough testing to be confident in the hardware. Also, constant stressing the rocket by running test after test could lead to more problems down the road.
Florida launches:Space Force anticipates many more launches in the future.
Terran stands at 110 feet high, but Relativity is also planning to build a larger rocket called Terran R. It would compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur.
Although it is smaller than the other 3D-printed objects, once it takes flight, it will be the largest to attempt an orbital mission. The rocket’s mass is approximately 85% 3D printed. Relativity hopes that it will increase that number to 95% for future rockets.
Terran’s components, which are 1,000,000 square feet in size, are printed and assembled at the company headquarters in Long Beach, California. Then, semitrailer transports them to Florida. It uses nine Aeon engines as its propellants, with one on each stage.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Emre Kelly at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.
