Relativity Space details Terran 1 launch malfunction, decides to focus on larger Terran R

The world may have seen the last launch of Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket, the first-ever 3D-printed rocket to make it to space with the company announcing Wednesday it’s shifting focus to its larger, reusable Terran R.

“Our first chapter as a company was to prove to the world 3D-printed rockets were viable. We just did that with Terran 1. Our second chapter is to build the next great launch company with Terran R.” said Relativity Space co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis.

The company released initial findings on what was mostly deemed a success from the Terran 1 launch on its mission dubbed “GLHF,” as in “Good Luck, Have Fun” from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station last month. While it was able to make it to space, it suffered an engine problem on its second stage so it fell short of reaching orbit.

The report said that 163 seconds into flight after stage separation, the second stage’s igniter valves were turned on, and video showed the single Aeon Vacuum engine firing up in space, but five seconds into its burn, telemetry showed the engine didn’t reach full thrust, and the flame from the engine sputtered before going out completely.

Preliminary findings suggest some valves on the engine opened slower than planned, which shifted the pressures needed for igniting the propellant in the engine chamber. Also, the oxygen pump did not generate expected pressure, with data indicating a vapor bubble was present at the pump inlet.

But the rocket did make it off the pad and endure the maximum pressure on ascent proving the survivability of company’s 3D-printed rocket concept. Despite the second-stage engine not lighting correctly, it did have a successful separation and other aspects of the second stage performed as designed.

It also became the first rocket from the West to make it to space using the fuel dubbed “methalox,” which is liquid oxygen and refined liquid natural gas close to methane. The mixture that lit up the night sky with a blue hue is thought to be the future for rocketry as it would be an easier fuel to deal with in space for refueling. SpaceX’s new Starship, ULA’s upcoming Vulcan and Blue Origin’s in-development New Glenn also will use the mixture. China this year also tried to reach orbit with a rocket using this next-generation fuel, but it too ultimately failed.

Terran 1, though, passed the Karman line, about 62 miles high, the internationally recognized altitude of having reached space. It flew to a maximum altitude of just over 83 miles before it began its descent back to Earth with the company successfully using its flight termination system to safely destroy the stage so it fell into the same disposal area over the Atlantic as the first stage.

The successes of the launch were deemed adequate for the company to put future efforts into building out a stable of the Terran R rockets that will feature first-stage engines that can land on ships off the Atlantic similar to how SpaceX does.

“Terran 1 was like a concept car, redefining the boundaries of what is possible by developing many valuable brand-new technologies well ahead of their time,” Ellis said. “Terran R is the mass-market, huge demand product that will be amazing precisely because it brings those ‘concept car’ developments into full maturity.”

Production of the rockets will ramp up at the company’s Long Beach, California factory as tests on the upgraded, yet still 3D-printed Aeon R engines continue at facilities in Mississippi. The first launch of a Terran R is now slated for 2026, and will require construction at Canaveral’s Launch Complex 16 of a new pad adjacent to the one used for the Terran 1 launch.

Relativity’s use of LC-16 comes through an agreement with the U.S. Space Force, which helped the company revamp the site for launch in less than a year. It was previously used for Titan and Pershing missiles as well as test for the Apollo and Gemini programs, but had not seen a launch since 1988.

Relativity’s shift to a larger rocket will allow it to compete with SpaceX and other providers like United Launch Alliance with a capacity to launch more than 50,000 pounds of payload to low-Earth orbit.

The design calls for its first stage boosters to fly up to 20 missions with refurbishment of boosters to be done on the Space Coast between launches.

The company has stated it has a backlog of $1.65 billion in launch service agreements with companies like OneWeb and Iridium along with several billion more in the works.

Follow Orlando Sentinel space coverage at Facebook.com/goforlaunchsentinel.