It is reported that the new generation of rocket builder “Relativity Space (relativity space)” company will start a brand new automated factory. Recently, Relativity Space announced that the company’s 11,150-square-meter production base in Long Beach, California, United States, will soon be put into use.The company’s ultimate goal is to use3D printingThe rocket revolutionized space flight.
The new factory is close to Relativity Space’s old headquarters in Los Angeles, and will house the business operations department and the automated factory for the production of “Terran 1” rockets in the future. The rocket plans to make its first flight next year.
The CEO of Relativity Space said that the company’s automated rocket factory in Long Beach will use robotics,3D printingTechnology and artificial intelligence technology establish a brand-new manufacturing platform, which will break the conventional aerospace manufacturing technology of nearly 60 years before.The CEO also stated that without fixed tooling, the company achieved a large number of parts count and risk reduction, increased the iteration speed, and created a brand new value chain. And we are very confident that the company’s autonomous factory will become the future technology stack of the entire aerospace industry.
The CEO of Relativity Space once worked for Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company “Blue Origin”, and the company’s other co-founder, Jordan Nonne, was an employee of SpaceX. . The two established “Relativity Space” in 2015, and it took only a few years to show their company to the public.
The company’s goal is to pass3D printingAnd intelligent automation greatly increases the chances of entering space. Using this method to manufacture rockets is much more complicated than traditional rockets, but it is more reliable and faster to build.For example, according to the description of Relativity Space, its 95-foot-tall (29-meter) “Terran 1” rocket has only 1% of the number of “normal” rockets. This two-stage rocket will be able to launch a payload of up to 2,750 pounds (1250 kg) into low-Earth orbit at a launch cost of only 10 million U.S. dollars, and the rocket can be built from scratch in less than 60 days.
By the way, the payload capacity of the Terran 1 rocket puts it between small satellite launch rockets (such as Rocket Lab’s small rocket Electron) and large commercial rockets (such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9).The construction of the new factory also reflects Relativity Space’s growing footprint throughout the United States. For example, the company has leased a 20,440-square-meter factory building at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and has been approved to use two of Stennis’s test facilities. . In addition, the company has obtained authorization to use the No. 16 launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida to launch the Terran 1 rocket.
It can be seen that the vision of Relativity Space not only goes beyond the borders of the United States, but in fact goes far beyond the orbit of the earth. The company claims that they hope to eventually help humans colonize Mars.The company’s statement said, “We believe that humans will have a more inspired future on Earth and Mars. In the early days of human settlement, intelligent automation and light, compact3D printing, Will be the basic technology needed to quickly build a new society with scarce resources. “Relativity Space said its Aeon rocket engine design can adapt to the vision of conquering the Red Planet. As SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk emphasized, engines burn liquid oxygen and liquid methane, both of which can be produced on Mars. (SpaceX’s newly launched Raptor engine also burns oxygen and methane, and will power the company’s interstellar spacecraft and super-heavy Mars colonization transportation system.)
Although Relativity Space has not yet launched any products, investors have shown considerable confidence in the company. Last fall alone, Relativity Space received $140 million in a round of financing, bringing the company’s total investment to $185 million.
The completion of the new factory this time also boosted the confidence of investors and customers. It is reported that customers have already started lining up to book the “Terran No. 1” rocket. For example, Relativity Space recently announced that it has signed payload launch contracts with Momentus, Telesat, Spaceflight, and Thai startup mu Space.
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