Relativity Space, which recently launched the world’s first 3D-printed rocket in a maiden test flight, is pushing forward with its next-generation reusable rocket, the company announced.

The California-based company announced on Wednesday in a press release that it will abandon the Terran 1 rocket and focus on the Terran R to meet market demand.

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

It took three launch attempts to send off the Terran 1 rocket, named Good Luck, Have Fun, last month, with scrubs and delays ranging from a fuel mixture issue to wind violations to a boat being in the range area of the launch.

While Terran 1 could go beyond max q (the point during the launch when the rocket experiences the most dynamic pressure), the second stage did not ignite and failed to reach orbit.

Relativity Space confirmed in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the Terran 1 did reach space, exceeding the Karman line, the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. The Karman line is 62 miles (100 kilometers) high.

In another tweet, Relativity Space said that the Terran 1 rocket’s main engine valves did not open as fast as expected, which influenced pressures in the system and the timing of the fuel reaching a thrust chamber assembly.

And a vapor bubble in the oxygen pump is believed to have caused pressure and timing issues with the fuel.

An investigation is still ongoing, confirmed Relativity Space. 

While it did not achieve orbit, Good Luck, Have Fun’s performance has not deterred Relativity Space.

“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 in the press release. "Terran R is the mass-market, huge demand product that will be amazing precisely because it brings those 'concept car' developments into full maturity, enabling Relativity to become a disruptive, diversified provider in solving the glaring medium-to-heavy lift launch market gap for customers with a new vehicle faster than previously possible."

Relativity Space has not yet responded to Spectrum News’ questions regarding the two rockets.

Getting to know Terran R

The 270-foot-tall Terran R is a two-stage rocket that is 18 feet in diameter and is listed as “customer-centric,” as it is being aimed at both private companies and government agencies, according to Relativity Space.

Company officials say the new rocket was developed to meet the demand of the growing launch of cable/internet and technical satellites.

Just like its predecessor, the Terran 1, they say the Terran R will be 3D-printed by using an aluminum alloy.

“Initially, Terran R will use the same proprietary printed aluminum alloy as flown on Terran 1, with a focus on supply chain scaling. However, a third-generation aluminum alloy, designed for improved performance of an orbital vehicle mission life beyond 20 reusable flights, is in active development, which is accelerated by the aid of artificial intelligence-based alloy discovery tools,” inforamation from Relativity Spaces said.

Now looking under the hood, figuratively speaking, the first stage of the rocket will have 13 3D-printed gas generator cycle Aeon R engines that will be run by a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid methane fuel. Each engine is capable of 258,000 pounds of sea-level thrust.

The second stage will have a single liquid oxygen-liquid methane Aeon Vac engine with 279,000 pounds of vacuum thrust.

Officials say the company hopes to get 20 launches out of each Terran R rocket, as part of Relativity Space’s business model.

“Focusing on our customer’s needs for urgent, disruptive, relevant, and diversified launch supply in the medium-to-heavy payload market, we chose to prioritize optimizing for first stage reuse initially. Each early flight of Terran R will seek to deliver customer payloads to orbit reliably,” the company stated.

The reusability of Terran R will help meet launch timelines and “servicing Relativity’s signed customer backlog of $1.65B in Launch Service Agreements and additional several billion dollars in active (launch service agreements),” stated the company.

The Terran R will be able to send payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary equatorial orbit and medium Earth orbit and beyond.

“Terran R will prioritize first stage reusability, with the capability of launching 23,500kg to low-Earth orbit or 5,500kg to a geosynchronous transfer orbit, both with downrange landing, or up to a maximum payload of 33,500kg to LEO in expendable configuration,” explained the company.

And just like SpaceX’s famed rockets that can land, Relativity Space hopes to accomplish the same feat. After liftoff and stage separation, the rocket’s first stage will land on a “downrange ship” in the Atlantic Ocean, explained the company. It did not describe what type of ship it will be.  

For example, SpaceX is known for using droneships as landing platforms for its rockets and then ferrying them back to base.

A breakdown of the reusable Terran R rocket. (Relativity Space)

The birth of the Terran R

The production location of the Terran R will be at Long Beach, Calif., the company’s 1-million-square-foot headquarters.

But engine testing will be at the company’s test facilities at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

However, when it comes to launching, look no further than Florida’s Space Coast.

“Starting in 2026, Terran R will launch from Space Launch Complex 16, the company’s orbital launch site at Cape Canaveral …,” Relativity Space stated.