California-based startup Relativity Space called off the planned debut launch of its 3D-printed rocket in Florida on Wednesday over fuel temperature concerns, delaying a key test of the company's novel strategy for cutting manufacturing costs.
The inaugural launch is intended to validate the company's supposition that its rocket's 3D-printed structure can withstand the forces of a launch off Earth.
The use of 3D-printers, Brost said, allows Relativity to hasten much of its manufacturing processes and more easily make changes to improve the rocket's design if needed after it flies, eliminating the need for a complex supply chain that would otherwise slow down rocket enhancements. While the expendable Terran 1 is built to carry 2,755 pounds of satellites to low-Earth orbit, waning demand for that class of launch vehicle has led Relativity to develop a larger, 3D-printed reusable rocket - the Terran R - that it expects to fly in 2024.
SpaceX flies its own heavy-lift rockets to get its Starlink network into orbit, while Amazon and OneWeb plan to use similar large rockets from various launch companies for their own satellites. OneWeb will launch its next-generation satellites on Relativity's Terran R, the companies announced last year.
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