Aerospace start-up Relativity Space headquartered in California has signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force to build and operate a launch facility in one of its stations.
The agreement will allow the 3-year-old company to test its 3D-printed rockets at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Exclusive Use of LC-16
The five-year contract will allow Relativity Space the exclusive use of Launch Complex 16, or LC-16. This will ensure its satellite costumers of schedule certainty and will give the company additional freedom to a more frequent schedule of launches.
The agreement also gives an option to extend the exclusive deal up to a 20-year term. LC-16 is a launch complex previously built for use by LGM-25 Titan rocket launches, the Gemini program, and the Apollo program.
"We have a very clear path toward having this be an exclusive use site for us in the future," CEO Tim Ellis, co-founder of Relativity Space, told CNBC.
The Terran-1 rocket by Relativity Space will be made using its large metal printer called Stargate, which could make metal parts 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Terran-1 will be the company's first rocket that would carry 1,250-kilogram payloads into low Earth orbit. The company is aiming the first launch of Terran-1 rocket before the end of 2020.
Why Space Programs Use 3D-Printed Rocket?
Space programs are also taking advantage of the advanced technology offered by 3D printing. The process will help engineers to create designs that were not previously possible. Today, it would also lower the building costs, use fewer parts, and take less time to build.
The aerospace start-up company confidently says that it would only take 60 days to build the Terran-1, much faster compared to building a typical rocket. It also means that the labor cost is lower.
Relativity Space is a start-up with rapid growth, raising $45.1 million in just three years. It has built Stargate, one of the world's largest 3D printers, at 14 feet tall and 7 feet wide. The company's 3D-printed rocket that was printed using the Stargate will be 90 feet tall and 7 feet wide.
The launching of Terran-1 rocket will cost about $10 million, but Relativity Space believes it will save money with the use of Cape Canaveral as its launchpad.
