Terran 1
ManufacturerRelativity Space
Country of originUnited States
Cost per launchUS$12 million[1]
Size
Height35.2 m (115 ft)
Diameter2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude300 km (190 mi)
Orbital inclination28.5°
Mass1,479 kg (3,261 lb)
Payload to SSO
Altitude500 km (310 mi)
Mass898 kg (1,980 lb)
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesCCSFS LC-16
VSFB Building 330
Total launches1
Failure(s)1
First flight23 March 2023
First stage
Height24.3 m (80 ft)
Diameter2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Powered by9× Aeon 1
Maximum thrust920 kN (207,000 lbf)
PropellantLCH4 / LOX
Second stage
Height8.1 m (27 ft)
Diameter2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Powered by1× AeonVac
Maximum thrust126 kN (28,300 lbf)
PropellantLCH4 / LOX

Terran 1 was an expendable two-stage small-lift launch vehicle developed by Relativity Space. Development began in 2017 and the rocket was retired in 2023.[2] Most structures and components of the vehicle are manufactured with 3D printing processes.[3]

Terran 1's first and only launch took place March 23, 2023 from Cape Canaveral, but did not achieve orbit due to a failure of the second stage.[3] Following the failed launch, Relativity retired the rocket in favor of developing the much larger, reusable Terran R vehicle.[4]

Design

Terran 1 consisted of two stages. The first stage is powered by nine Aeon 1 engines burning methane and oxygen propellants (methalox) in a gas-generator cycle, each producing 100 kN (23,000 lbf) of thrust. The second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized version of Aeon 1,[5] known as AeonVac, producing 126 kN (28,300 lbf) of thrust in vacuum.[6] Both stages are autogenously pressurized.[7]

The vehicle's (notional) payload fairing measures 6.8 m (22 ft) long and 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter. Payload capacity was specified to be 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) to lower inclination low-Earth orbits and 900 kg (2,000 lb) to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).[8][6][9] In any case, the vehicle never carried payloads, its sole launch featured an inert nosecone in place of a functional clamshell fairing.

The primary and secondary structures of Terran 1 were manufactured with Relativity's Stargate 3D printer, which welded structures together from aluminum alloy.[8] 90% of Terran 1 by mass consisted of printed components;[8] Relativity claimed that they could reduce the part count in the vehicle by 100 times compared to traditionally-manufactured rockets and manufacture an entire flight article from raw materials in 60 days.[8][10] Relativity's in-development Terran R launch vehicle will utilize the same tooling used to manufacture Terran 1.[5][11]

Relativity advertised a price per launch for Terran 1 of US$10 million in 2019.[12] The advertised price per launch had been increased to $12 million USD in 2021.[5]

Proposed upgrades

In February 2022, Relativity CEO Tim Ellis stated in an interview with Ars Technica the nine Aeon 1 engines on the first stage could be replaced with a single Aeon R engine with substantially higher thrust. The Aeon R engine is planned to be used on Relativity's much larger Terran R rocket.[13] The upgrade was planned to debut on the fourth flight of Terran 1 before the program was cancelled.[13]

Launch

Relativity received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch license to conduct the first launch of Terran 1, not-earlier-than (NET) 8 March 2023 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 16.[14] Originally, another static fire was planned with the full rocket stack before first launch. Relativity believed it performed enough tests and instead attempted a launch.[7] Terran 1's initial flight scheduled for 8 March 2023 was scrubbed due to "exceeding launch commit criteria limits for propellant thermal conditions on stage two". A second launch attempt on 11 March was also scrubbed. Set for 18:00 UTC (14:00 EDT), high upper level winds prevented liftoff for over an hour. A second attempt at 19:35 UTC (15:35 EDT) was cancelled at T-70 seconds from a boat in the launch safety range. A third attempt at 19:42 UTC (15:42 EDT) was cancelled half a second before liftoff. The engines briefly lit up before shutting down from a "launch commit criteria violation". A final attempt occurred at 21:00 UTC (17:00 EDT). An issue with the automatic stage separation promptly closed the launch window.[15]

Another launch window for Terran 1's initial flight opened on March 23. After holding twice from a boat in the launch safety range, and high upper-level winds, the rocket lifted off at 03:25 UTC (23:25 EDT). Following a nominal liftoff and powered flight of the first stage, the second stage failed to ignite, leading to the loss of the mission. Preliminary investigations blamed the failure on a slower-than-expected valve opening as well as vapor ingestion into the liquid oxygen turbopump causing reduced performance.[16] Although the launch did not orbit, Relativity acknowledged the successful performance of the vehicle's 3D printed structures under flight loads.[17]

Following the loss of the first mission, the company abandoned further plans for Terran 1, instead choosing to focus efforts on developing the much larger reusable Terran R vehicle. Existing payloads on Terran 1 will likely have to be remanifested to Terran R or other flights.[4]

Planned launches

Flight No. Date and

time (UTC)

 Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customer Outcome
1 23 March 2023, 03:25[2] LC-16 None None LEO Test flight Failure
First flight of Terran 1, with the mission name "Good Luck, Have Fun". Instead of a payload, the non-deploying nose cone carried a metal ring, which was an early test article from Relativity's 3D printing process, weighing approximately 1.5 kg.[18]

A stated goal for the mission was to demonstrate the viability of 3D printing for major structural components of a rocket, the first such components to be used in an orbital launch attempt. These were proven in flight when Terran 1 passed max q and continued to perform nominally. After stage separation, the second stage failed to ignite, ending the mission.[19]

2 March 2023 LC-16 VCLS Demo-2R LEO NASA Cancelled
$3 million contract for unspecified payload(s) in NASA's Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) 2 program.[20] The ELaNa 42 mission, consisting of three CubeSats, would have launched on this flight.[21]
3 2023 LC-16 Undisclosed Undisclosed Cancelled
Third flight of Terran 1, as detailed by Tim Ellis in an interview, would have carried a payload for an undisclosed customer.[13] Would have been last flight of Terran 1 before previously planned block upgrade.
NET 2023 Rideshare LEO Spaceflight, Inc. Cancelled
Contract with Spaceflight included first flight in Q3 2021, with option for additional flights in the future.[22]
NET 2023 Rideshare 10–350 kg GEO Momentus Cancelled
The 2019 contract with Momentus included a first flight originally scheduled for 2021, with option for five additional flights in the future. The five flights would have included the launch of a Momentus Vigoride Extended space tug.[23]
NET 2023 LEO Mu Space Cancelled
Dedicated launch for mu Space, would have carried a single payload.[24]
NET 2023 LC-16 / B330 Rideshare LEO TriSept Cancelled
Launch site would have been either be Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg. TriSept stated that the launch would have featured one large primary payload accompanied with several smaller payloads.[25]
2023 LEO DoD (STP) Cancelled
Single flight carrying "small U.S. military payload", price not disclosed.[9]
NET 2023[26] B330 Iridium NEXT × 1 LEO (86.4°) Iridium Cancelled
Iridium has ordered a Terran to launch one of the 6 on-orbit spares for their satellite constellation.
Telesat

(unspecified quantity)

 LEO Telesat Cancelled
Unspecified number of launches for an unspecified number of satellites.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Clark, Stephen (24 June 2020). "Relativity books up to six launches for Iridium, reveals plans for Vandenberg pad". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 Baylor, Michael. "Terran-1 - Good Luck, Have Fun". Next Spaceflight. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 Whang, Oliver (23 March 2023), "The First 3-D Printed Rocket Fails Shortly After Launch", The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331, archived from the original on 23 March 2023, retrieved 23 March 2023
  4. 1 2 Sheetz, Michael. "Relativity goes 'all in' on larger reusable rocket, shifting 3D-printing approach after first launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Sheetz, Michael (25 February 2021). "Relativity Space unveils a reusable, 3D-printed rocket to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9". CNBC. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Rockets". Relativity Space. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (22 February 2023). "Relativity sets launch date for first flight of Terran 1 rocket". Spaceflight Now. Pole Star Publications Ltd. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Relativity Space (August 2020). Terran 1 : Payload User's Guide Version 2.0 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2021.
  9. 1 2 Erwin, Sandra (15 March 2021). "Relativity Space wins U.S. military contract for 2023 launch". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Berger, Eric (3 March 2020). "Relativity Space has big dreams. Is the company for real?". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  11. ↑ Burghardt, Thomas (8 June 2021). "Relativity Space reveals fully reusable medium lift launch vehicle Terran R". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  12. 1 2 Foust, Jeff (5 April 2019). "Relativity signs contract with Telesat for launching LEO constellation". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 Berger, Eric (22 February 2022). "With eyes on reuse, Relativity plans rapid transition to Terran R engines". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Kelly, Emre (22 February 2023). "Relativity Space's first launch of 3D-printed Terran rocket scheduled for March". Florida Today. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  15. ↑ Malik, Tariq (11 March 2023). "Relativity Space aborts launch of Terran 1, the world's first 3D-printed rocket, twice in 1 day". Space.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Sheetz, Michael. "Relativity goes 'all in' on larger reusable rocket, shifting 3D-printing approach after first launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Knapp, Alex. "Relativity Space Launches Its First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Fails To Reach Orbit". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Kordina, Florian (5 March 2023). "Good Luck, Have Fun | Terran 1". Everyday Astronaut. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  19. ↑ Wall, Mike (23 March 2023). "Relativity Space launches world's first 3D-printed rocket on historic test flight, but fails to reach orbit". Space.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  20. ↑ Foust, Jeff (12 December 2020). "Three companies win NASA small launch contracts". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  21. ↑ Higginbotham, Scott (9 August 2021). "CubeSat Launch Initiative – Upcoming Flights" (PDF). NASA. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "Relativity Signs Launch Services Agreement for Multiple Launches with Spaceflight on Terran 1, World's First 3D Printed Rocket". Relativity Space (Press release). 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  23. ↑ "Relativity Space Signs Launch Services Agreement for Multiple Launches with Momentus on Terran 1, World's First 3D Printed Rocket". Relativity Space (Press release). Business Wire. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Relativity's 3D Printed Terran 1 Rocket to Launch mu Space's Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite". Relativity Space. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  25. ↑ Foust, Jeff (10 December 2020). "TriSept purchases Relativity launch for rideshare mission". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  26. ↑ Henry, Caleb [@CHenry_QA] (26 July 2022). "Iridium says it will launch up to five spare satellites in 2023, but not with Relativity Space. That leaves only one spare for Relativity to have launched with Terran 1. The launch provider for the other five hasn't been disclosed, only that it will be a single rocket" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 August 2022 – via Twitter.
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