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Manufacturer | Relativity Space |
---|---|
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 | In development |
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 | 207,000 lbf (920 kN) |
Propellant | LCH4 / LOX |
First stage – Block 2 | |
Powered by | 1× Aeon R |
Maximum thrust | 300,000 lbf (1,300 kN) |
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 | 28,300 lbf (126 kN) |
Propellant | LCH4 / LOX |
Terran 1 is a two-stage, 3D printed, expendable, small-lift launch vehicle under development since 2017[2] by Relativity Space.[3][4]
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 23,000 lbf (100 kN) of thrust. The second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized version of Aeon 1,[2] known as AeonVac, producing 28,300 lbf (126 kN) of thrust in vacuum.[5] Both stages will be autogenously pressurized.[citation needed]
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] although Relativity commonly states a payload capacity of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb).[5]
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][7] Relativity's in-development Terran R launch vehicle will utilize the same tooling used to manufacture Terran 1.[3][2]
Relativity advertised a price per launch for Terran 1 of US$10 million in 2019.[8] The advertised price per launch had been increased to US$12 million in 2021.[2][5]
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.[9]
Relativity aims to conduct the first launch of Terran 1 in 2022.[9]
Flight No. | Date and
time (UTC) |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch
outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NET June 2022 | 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.[9] | |||||||
2 | 2022[9] | 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.[10] The ELaNa 42 mission, consisting of three CubeSats, will launch on this flight.[11] | |||||||
3 | 2022 | 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.[9] Last flight of Terran 1 before planned block upgrade. | |||||||
NET 2022 | Rideshare | LEO | Spaceflight, Inc. | Planned | |||
Contract with Spaceflight includes first flight in Q3 2021, with option for additional flights in the future.[12] | |||||||
NET 2022 | 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.[13] | |||||||
NET 2022 | LEO | Mu Space | Planned | ||||
Dedicated launch for mu Space, will carry a single payload.[14] | |||||||
NET 2022 | 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.[15] | |||||||
2023 | LEO | DoD (STP) | Planned | ||||
Single flight carrying "small U.S. military payload", price not disclosed.[16] | |||||||
2023–2030 | B330 | Iridium ×6 | LEO (86.4°) | Iridium | Planned | ||
Iridium has ordered up to six Terran 1 flights to launch on-orbit spares for their satellite constellation. | |||||||
Telesat
(unspecified quantity) |
LEO | Telesat | Planned | ||||
Unspecified number of launches for an unspecified number of satellites.[8] |