New questions raised about the rocket startup Relativity
Link here. Apparently Relativity has had a number of problems developing its proposed large Terran-R rocket using the 3D printing technology the company has specialized in.
According to internal documents reviewed by Ars, Relativity had difficulty printing pressure domes for the Terran R rocket. One of the documents references a “large buckling event” with a printed dome. As a result, Relativity seems likely to purchase these pressure domes from a European aerospace company.
The details provided for the status of Terran-R are somewhat vague. There are claims its size has been revised, and that the company is now outsourcing construction of some parts to European vendors, but none of this is described with any specificity. All in all however it does appear the rocket’s first launch is facing a delay from its 2026 targeted launch date. Earlier reports had suggested this, and this new report reinforces that sense.
I still wonder if Relativity might find much greater and more immediate success marketing its sophisticated 3D printing technology to other industries.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Link here. Apparently Relativity has had a number of problems developing its proposed large Terran-R rocket using the 3D printing technology the company has specialized in.
According to internal documents reviewed by Ars, Relativity had difficulty printing pressure domes for the Terran R rocket. One of the documents references a “large buckling event” with a printed dome. As a result, Relativity seems likely to purchase these pressure domes from a European aerospace company.
The details provided for the status of Terran-R are somewhat vague. There are claims its size has been revised, and that the company is now outsourcing construction of some parts to European vendors, but none of this is described with any specificity. All in all however it does appear the rocket’s first launch is facing a delay from its 2026 targeted launch date. Earlier reports had suggested this, and this new report reinforces that sense.
I still wonder if Relativity might find much greater and more immediate success marketing its sophisticated 3D printing technology to other industries.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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