relativistic space
The bright white Terran 1 rocket launched on its third attempt Wednesday night, from Space Force Station Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Then, the small methane-fueled rocket produced some stunning sights as a bluish-green flame propelled it into space against the blackness of the night. The first stage, with nine engines, appeared to be running nominally as it soared smoothly through the atmosphere, firing for more than two minutes. The second stage of the missile then successfully separated.
after this, something It happened. From the onboard video of the missile, it appeared that the second stage engine tried to ignite but could not sustain this ignition. So far, the company has not accurately determined what went wrong, whether it was a problem with one of the fuel pumps, injectors, or ignition system. Regardless, the second stage – which carried no payload due to the experimental nature of the test flight – returned to the Atlantic.
After the flight, Relative Post a statement on Twitter He described the mission as successful due to the missile passing through a region of maximum dynamic pressure during the flight profile.
“Today’s launch demonstrated Relativity’s 3D printing rocket technologies that will enable our next vehicle, the Terran R,” the company stated. “We achieved this with Max-Q, the highest stress condition on our printed structures. This is the biggest demonstration of our new approach to additive manufacturing. Today it’s a huge win, with many historic milestones. We’ve also progressed from During the main engine cut-off and phase separation, we will be assessing flight data and providing general updates over the coming days.”
It’s appropriate to describe Wednesday’s launch as a success. In the new era of commercially developed small launch vehicles, the Terran 1 rocket has made it on its first flight more than Astra, Virgin Orbit, Firefly and ABL Space Systems. Only Rocket Lab, with the debut of its smaller electronic rocket in 2017, has had a more successful first flight. In producing a rocket with about 85 percent synthetic materials added, Relativity flew a largely new manufacturing process.
The extent to which Wednesday’s launch validated the Terran 1 rocket’s additive-fabricated structure will have to be assessed with data from the flight — was it a close call, or was the structure really strong? This information will likely help determine how much of the Terran R is being produced with 3D printing technology.
relativistic space
Another big question about the future of Relativity is how quickly the company will move away from Terran 1, with a payload capacity of 1.25 metric tons, into low Earth orbit, to the much larger Terran R vehicle. Prior to this launch, Relativity CEO Tim Ellis committed to flying the Terran 1 rocket again. However, the company’s statement—which talks about enabling “our next car”—suggests that the Relativity may be ready to transition to the Terran R immediately.
Whatever Relativity Space ultimately decides, it will be able to move forward with those plans with great confidence after Wednesday night’s flight.
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