For Long Beach-based aerospace company Relativity Space, “shoot for the stars” is more than just an expression. The company specializes in manufacturing 3D-printed rockets fully equipped for space flight, and it just announced its latest round of funding that’ll go toward building an entirely reusable launch vehicle called Terran R.
With a $650 million Series E mega-round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, Relativity Space is set to get to work on its second product. The raise follows Relativity’s $500 million Series D last year. Terran R follows its predecessor Terran 1 which is scheduled to launch this year. The new vehicle features fewer parts, faster speed and more flexibility and reliability than the Terran 1. It also has the ability to launch 20x more payload.
“Terran R is at the cutting edge of rocket innovation and design,” Zach Dunn, Relativity’s SVP of engineering and manufacturing, said in a statement. “Fully reusable and entirely 3D printed, Terran R will be well-suited to serve customers’ evolving needs in the large satellite constellation industry, while also representing a significant leap towards achieving our mission of building humanity’s industrial base off of Earth.”
Relativity Space’s manufacturing faculty, its Factory of the Future, is home to the world’s largest metal 3D printers. By using software and data-powered processes to build its products, as opposed to traditional manufacturing methods, Relativity is able to achieve designs that otherwise wouldn’t be possible, according to the company. The Terran R will be a two-stage, 216-foot-tall vehicle with a 16-foot diameter and a 5-meter payload fairing. Each component, including its seven engines, will be completely reusable.
“There’s an organic relationship between 3D-printing and reusability, and it gives us an unparalleled advantage to design the best fully reusable rocket possible,” Tim Ellis, the company's CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “Over the last year, we found ourselves being asked by the market to accelerate development of our larger launch vehicle, so we knew it was time to double down on our existing plans and scale the Terran R program even faster and build production capabilities at scale sooner.”
The company is on a mission to establish humanity’s industrial base on Mars. The Terran R will be built to serve both commercial and government customers, as well as offer a point-to-point space freighter to tackle missions between Earth, the moon and Mars. The rocket is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in 2024.
Relativity Space is aiming to have all hands on deck to build its new rocket. It’s currently looking to add 200 new members to its team of over 400 across in roles for engineering, software development, manufacturing and more.
