An American startup called Relativity Space will send a fully 3D printed rocket into space in 2022.
3D-printed rocket to launch in early 2022 / Photo: space.com
The first test flight from Relativity will take place at the beginning of the year, when the company plans to test the viability of the new Terran 1 rocket.
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It’s not just a fully 3D printed two-stage booster, but also the largest metal object ever printed, writes Space.
The rocket has a height of 35 meters and a diameter of 2.3 meters. Terran 1 can deliver maximum payload into orbit up to 1.25 tons.
Meanwhile, the company is already working on the next rocket, the Terran R, which will be reusable, unlike the first disposable model.
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Terran R is almost twice the size of the first prototype, it is 66 m high and 4.9 m wide and will be able to launch more than 20 tons of cargo. They want to launch it in 2024.
Both rockets will launch from the space station pad at Cape Canaveral on the coast of Florida, where Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 usually launches.
3D printing, as the creators of Terran explain, simplifies the supply chain, because the entire launch vehicle is made only from four raw metals.
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3D printing technologies are not only used by Relativity. SpaceX, Boeing and Blue Origin have also integrated various 3D printed parts into their rockets.
But a complete assembly will be easier and more efficient, Relativity is sure, because a rocket is usually assembled for about 2 years, and with a 3D printer, the process takes into account the supply of raw materials will take 60 days.
In the future, the company hopes to send its rockets to Mars, and already there 3D printing will be useful to create industrial base.
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- Recall that earlier we wrote that the Falcon 9 rocket sent about 100 satellites into orbit, including the Ukrainian Sich-2-30.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that the satellite already maintains a stable signal, and also said that it will be connected to the EU’s global monitoring system for the planet.
- In addition, it was reported that the engines for the Starship, which is supposed to go to Mars, broke a new record.
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Source From: Segodnya
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