From NOTICE News Daily for March 8, 2023
U.S. startup Relativity Space is gearing up for the launch of the world’s first 3D-printed rocket into space. Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations Josh Brost says the rocket “has the potential to make access to space less expensive, more frequent and more reliable.”
TRANSCRIPT
Jonathan:
The world’s first 3D-printed rocket is set to be launched into space.
Made by the company Relativity Space, it calls the rocket the Terran 1, measuring in at 110 ft tall and 7.5 ft wide. They say they’re able to build the rocket from start to finish, with raw materials, in just 60 days.
Compare that to the nearly 2,000 days – five years – it takes to build a rocket the conventional way. It’s partly because they use 100 times fewer parts than in a regular rocket.
Sound: “So 85% of the rocket by mass that’s sitting on the pad right now is 3D printed. Now, the rocket prior to this with the highest percentage was probably, I don’t know, maybe 4% 3D printed by mass. So it’s a huge step change. And, you know, as such, we need to prove that a 3D printed rocket can survive the environments of a rocket’s flight.”
For its first mission called “Good Luck, Have Fun”, the Terran 1 is set to be launched this afternoon and if successful, it could completely change the space industry.
Sound: “There are a lot of things that are special about this. //We have the ability to demonstrate a brand new way of manufacturing large aerospace systems that has the potential to make access to space less expensive, more frequent and more reliable. And that definitely has positive impacts on people’s lives on Earth and will for years to come.”
Relativity Space says the Terran 1 is reusable and will be fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas, making it a sustainable approach to space travel.
