The company Relativity Space, which manufactured the rocket, wants to make access to space cheaper, easier and more reliable.
16:02•Updated 17:09
The world’s first 3D-printed space rocket is set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida tomorrow, Wednesday, and attempt orbital flight.
The Terran 1 rocket was made by a Californian Relativity Space (you switch to another service) -company. The rocket is 33.5 meters high and 7.5 meters wide, making it the largest existing 3D printed object in the world.
– We are introducing a completely new way of manufacturing large systems for the aerospace industry that can make access to space cheaper, easier and more reliable, the company’s vice president Josh Brost says the Reuters news agency.
The rocket is made with Relativity Space’s patented 3D technology, which combines 3D metal printing, artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics, says Tomorrow’s world Today (you switch to another service). It can be made from raw materials in 60 days and has a hundred times fewer parts than traditional construction methods.
Traditionally, about 100,000 parts are needed for a spaceship, but Relativity Space has reduced the number to a thousand by utilizing 3D printing. 85 percent of the mass of the first Terran 1 rocket was produced by 3D printing. The company’s goal is to increase the number to 95 percent.
Relativity Space is also developing a fully reusable Terran R launch vehicle. It is intended as a space cargo ship that would be able to perform missions between the Earth, the Moon and Mars.
Source: Reuters