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Manufacturer | Relativity Space |
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Country of origin | United States |
Cost per launch | US$12 million[1] |
Size | |
Height | 35.2 m (115 ft) |
Diameter | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Altitude | 300 km (190 mi) |
Orbital inclination | 28.5° |
Mass | 1,479 kg (3,261 lb) |
Payload to SSO | |
Altitude | 500 km (310 mi) |
Mass | 898 kg (1,980 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | CCSFS LC-16 VSFB Building 330 |
First stage | |
Height | 24.3 m (80 ft) |
Diameter | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
Powered by | 9× Aeon 1 |
Maximum thrust | 920 kN (207,000 lbf) |
Propellant | LCH4 / LOX |
First stage – Block 2 | |
Powered by | 1× Aeon R |
Maximum thrust | 1,300 kN (300,000 lbf) |
Propellant | LCH4 / LOX |
Second stage | |
Height | 8.1 m (27 ft) |
Diameter | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
Powered by | 1× AeonVac |
Maximum thrust | 126 kN (28,300 lbf) |
Propellant | LCH4 / LOX |
Terran 1 is an expendable two-stage small-lift launch vehicle developed by Relativity Space since 2017.[2] Unique to Relativity, most structures and components in the vehicle are manufactured with 3D printing processes.
The maximum payload was expected to be 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) to 185 km (115 mi) low Earth orbit (LEO). Relativity's advertised launch price was $12 million USD per Terran 1 mission.
Terran 1's first flight is scheduled for 11 March, 2023 after a scrub on 8 March.
Terran 1 consists of two stages. The first stage is powered by nine Aeon 1 engines burning methane and oxygen propellants in a gas-generator cycle, each producing 100 kN (23,000 lbf) of thrust. The second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized version of Aeon 1,[3] known as AeonVac, producing 126 kN (28,300 lbf) of thrust in vacuum.[4] Both stages will be autogenously pressurized.[5]
The payload fairing measures 6.8 m (22 ft) long and has a diameter of 3 m (9.8 ft). Terran 1 is capable of up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) to low Earth orbit.[6] However, Relativity commonly states a payload capacity of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) to lower inclination low-Earth orbits and 900 kg (2,000 lb) to a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).[4][7]
The primary and secondary structures of Terran 1 are manufactured with Relativity's Stargate 3D printer out of a proprietary aluminum alloy.[6] 90% of Terran 1 by mass consists of printed components;[6] Relativity claims that they can reduce the part count in the vehicle by 100 times compared to traditionally-manufactured rockets and manufacture an entire flight article from raw materials in 60 days.[6][8] Relativity's in-development Terran R launch vehicle will utilize the same tooling used to manufacture Terran 1.[3][9]
Relativity advertised a price per launch for Terran 1 of US$10 million in 2019.[10] The advertised price per launch had been increased to $12 million USD in 2021.[3]
In February 2022, Relativity CEO Tim Ellis stated in an interview with Ars Technica that the current configuration of Terran 1, with nine Aeon 1 engines on the first stage, will be replaced after the third flight with a stage featuring a single Aeon R engine with substantially higher thrust. The Aeon R engine is planned to be used on Relativity's much larger Terran R rocket.[11]
Relativity received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch license to conduct the first launch of Terran 1, not-earlier-than (NET) 8 March 2023 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 16.[12] Originally, another static fire was planned with the full rocket stack before first launch. However, Relativity decided it performed enough tests and instead decided to go for a launch attempt.[5]
Flight No. | Date and
time (UTC) |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch
outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 March 2023, 18:00[2] | LC-16 | None | LEO | Test flight | Planned | |
First flight of the Terran 1 launch vehicle, with mission name "Good Luck, Have Fun". Will carry no payload.[11] | |||||||
2 | March 2023 | LC-16 | VCLS Demo-2R | LEO | NASA | Planned | |
$3 million contract for unspecified payload(s) in NASA's Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) 2 program.[13] The ELaNa 42 mission, consisting of three CubeSats, will launch on this flight.[14] | |||||||
3 | 2023 | LC-16 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Planned | ||
Third flight of Terran 1, as detailed by Tim Ellis in an interview, will carry a payload for an undisclosed customer.[11] Last flight of Terran 1 before planned block upgrade. | |||||||
NET 2023 | Rideshare | LEO | Spaceflight, Inc. | Planned | |||
Contract with Spaceflight includes first flight in Q3 2021, with option for additional flights in the future.[15] | |||||||
NET 2023 | Rideshare | 10–350 kg | GEO | Momentus | Planned | ||
The 2019 contract with Momentus included a first flight originally scheduled for 2021, with option for five additional flights in the future. The five flights will include launch of a Momentus Vigoride Extended space tug.[16] | |||||||
NET 2023 | LEO | Mu Space | Planned | ||||
Dedicated launch for mu Space, will carry a single payload.[17] | |||||||
NET 2023 | LC-16 / B330 | Rideshare | LEO | TriSept | Planned | ||
Launch site will either be Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg. TriSept stated that the launch will feature one large primary payload accompanied with several smaller payloads.[18] | |||||||
2023 | LEO | DoD (STP) | Planned | ||||
Single flight carrying "small U.S. military payload", price not disclosed.[7] | |||||||
NET 2023[19] | B330 | Iridium NEXT × 1 | LEO (86.4°) | Iridium | Planned | ||
Iridium has ordered a Terran to launch one of the 6 on-orbit spares for their satellite constellation. | |||||||
Telesat
(unspecified quantity) |
LEO | Telesat | Planned | ||||
Unspecified number of launches for an unspecified number of satellites.[10] |