Fully Reusable Entirely 3D-Printed Rocket Unveiled

Relativity Space has revealed its plans for Terran R, its fully reusable entirely 3D-printed rocket.

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.

Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Relativity.

As a two-stage, 216-foot-tall rocket with a 16-foot diameter, and a 5-meter (16.4-foot) payload fairing, Terran R will be entirely reusable and capable of launching 20,000kg (57,320 pounds) to low Earth orbit (LEO). 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.

The company also announced it has closed a $650 million Series E equity funding round. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from investors including Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, K5 Global, Soroban Capital, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto, and Spencer Rascoff, among others. Following the announcement of its fully reusable, entirely 3D printed rocket, Terran R, the company’s latest round of funding enables the scaling of the Terran R program and long-term infrastructure development.

“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 multiplanetary 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.”

The Terran R fully reusable, entirely 3D-printed rocket 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 year. Combined with the ability to launch 20X more payload than Terran 1, Terran R provides both government and commercial customers affordable access to space, in LEO and beyond. 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 pipeline of commercial interest. As a testament to its commercial viability, Relativity recently signed its first anchor customer launch contract for its Terran R vehicle.

With a completely novel, top-down approach to 3D printing production, Relativity’s rocket design and production has exponentially evolved in the company’s 5-year history. 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.

Terran R also represents a large leap towards Relativity’s mission to build humanity’s multiplanetary future, eventually offering customers a point-to-point space freighter capable of missions between Earth, Moon and Mars.

(Source: Relativity Space news release. Image from company YouTube video)