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Innovation Relativity

Terran 1 launched on Wednesday night, failing several minutes after liftoff (Relativity Space)

By Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel is a news writer for Leaders Media. He was the Fall 2021 College Fix Fellow and Health Care...

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Mar 23, 2023

Rocket Company Celebrates Failed Launch 

Relativity Space is celebrating the partial success of nearly reaching orbit with its first-ever 3D-printed rocket.

Key Details

  • Relativity Space launched Terran 1 on Wednesday night from Cape Canaveral, Florida, into the upper atmosphere. 
  • It was the first successfully launched 3D-printed rocket in history, composed of 85% manufactured materials. 
  • While the rocket did not reach orbit, it successfully took off, survived the maximum point of intensity (Max-Q), and experienced a successful second-stage separation before an abnormality halted the mission several minutes after liftoff. 
  • The video feed appeared to show the second stage failing to ignite fully, likely resulting in the launch vehicle falling into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Why It’s News 

Even as a moderate failure, Wednesday’s launch marks a historic moment in the history of aerospace research and an important development in the history of a company that could come to rival SpaceX’s supremacy over space travel eventually. 

Relativity Space celebrated what science journalist Eric Berger describes as “a successful failure” when Terran 1 pushed past Max-Q and continued its burn into low orbit. 

The failure to reach the lower orbit was not surprising. In the history of rocketry, there has never been a successful first attempt by a private space company. The company celebrated the publicized and live-streamed first attempt as exceeding expectations. 

According to the company, the launch was more than successful enough to justify the company claims that 3D-printing technology can play a role in developing reusable rockets, potentially setting up the company’s upcoming larger Terran R rocket as a rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. 

Notable Quote 

“Today’s launch proved Relativity’s 3D-printed rocket technologies that will enable our next vehicle, Terran R. This is the biggest proof point for our novel additive manufacturing approach. Today is a huge win, with many historic firsts. We will assess flight data and provide public updates over the coming days,” tweeted Relativity Space. 

Backing Up A Bit 

As we previously reported, Relativity Space already has two more launches scheduled for this year, with Terran 2 and Terran 3 scheduled to begin carrying commercial payloads into space. The company may begin testing and accepting commercial payloads for Terran R this year. It has already contracted over $1.2 billion in future Terran R launches. 

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