The first 3D-printed rocket is set to blast off into space today.
The 110-foot-tall Terran 1 rocket, built by Long Beach, California-headquartered Relativity Space, is scheduled for its first flight from Cape Canaveral at about 1 pm ET Wednesday.
The launch team moved its target to 2:40 pm ET in the early afternoon. But the launch is expected to remain open until 4 p.m. ET if more time is needed to resolve issues during the countdown, Florida Today reported.
Terran 1, which is a prototype free of charge to the customer, is expected to liftoff, then go through a separation stage, a second engine start and cut, and achieve orbit.
The goal of this initial launch is to prove the 7.5 foot diameter, 3D-printed vehicle is strong enough for launch and flight into space.
Watch the launch of a 3D printed rocket in Relativity Space
3D-printed rocket launch:Relativity Space is set for the first launch of the 3D printed Terran 1 rocket
Relativity Space:Preparing for the launch of the first 3D-printed rocket
Lift off and cross the Atlantic and go through Max-Q, the point of flight when the rocket is at maximum tension will be “a big turning point,” the company said in a discussion of the success of the launch of Twitter. “Why? Since this is the phase of flight where the vehicle’s structural loads are the highest, passing this point of flight proves our hypothesis: 3D printed rockets are structurally viable!”
If Terran 1 – dubbed “Good Luck, Have Fun” or “GLHF” – makes it into low Earth orbit (LEO), Relativity Space will consider it “a total home run,” Space said. com reports, citing an email from Relativity space representatives.
If that goal is met, Relativity will be the first privately held, venture-backed company in the space to successfully do so on its first launch, the company said.
“We have our own in-house team that designed this rocket from a blank piece of paper, built our own factory with the largest metal 3D printer in the world, our own custom aluminum alloys. We build our own rocket engines,” said Tim Ellis, cofounder and CEO of Relativity Space. “Now we’re about to launch it.”
This launch is just the first step in Relativity’s interstellar plan to go to Mars.
Last year, the company announced plans with Impulse Space in El Segundo, California, to build a Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander on a Terran R rocket no earlier than 2024.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
What’s everyone saying?:Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news