Three Times Failed To Launch First 3D Printed Rocket, Relativity Space: This Is A Great Victory!

JAKARTA - Relativity Space's first 3D printed rocket, Terran 1 launched again, but once again, it failed three minutes after flying and away from the targeted orbit.

There was nothing on board the Terran 1 test plane except the company's first 3D metal mold made six years ago.

Terran 1, took off last Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, he managed to complete the Phase 1 separation and met Max Q (maximum dynamic pressure situation) as planned.

But in Phase 2, the engine seemed to lose its engine, causing Terran 1 to fall before its time. The plan, the rocket will head into an orbit as high as 125 miles for several days.

However, the failure incident caused Terran 1 to burn itself on its way down, and fall back into the Atlantic Ocean.

The launch still marks a huge leap for California-based Relativity Space, USA, and for the future of cheap space travel.

This is because about 85 percent of the rockets, including nine 3D-printed engines, are in a company factory in Long Beach, California, as quoted by ABC News, Friday, March 24.

Although this third launch attempt failed again, the company remained tolerant by calling it a big win and managed to make history.

"Today is a big win, with a lot of history first. We are also developing through the Separation of Main Machines and Stage Separation," Relativity Space said on Twitter.

"We will assess flight data and provide public updates over the coming days," he added.

Today’s launch proved Relativity’s 3D-printed rocket technologies that will enable our next vehicle, Terran R. We successfully made it through Max-Q, the highest stress state on our printed structures. This is the biggest proof point for our novel additive manufacturing approach.… pic.twitter.com/9iaFVwYoqe

— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) March 23, 2023

Previously reported, the mission will test Relativity Space's 3D printing technology, which combines 3D metal printing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and autonomous robots to make rockets from raw materials within 60 days.

The rocket's height is about 35 meters high, making it the industry's smallest orbital rocket, and 85 percent of its mass is 3D.

In addition, Terran 1 is designed to lift up to 1,250 kilograms of loads into low-Earth orbit, and the company sets a price of 12 million US dollars (Rp185 billion) per flight.