The space startup Relativity Space called off the first-ever flight of its new 3D-printed rocket on Wednesday (March 8) after a last-minute abort and temperature issues during the countdown.Â
Relativity Space’s Terran 1 launch vehicle, billed as the world’s first 3D-printed rocket, experienced an automatic abort about 70 seconds before an initial launch try at 2:40 p.m. EST (1940 GMT) at its Florida launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.Â
While the company tried to reset for a second launch attempt on Wednesday, it ultimately had to stand down “due to exceeding launch commit criteria limits” for the fuel temperatures on the rocket’s second stage, officials wrote in a Twitter update (opens in new tab).Â
“We are scrubbing launch operations for the day, thanks for playing,” the company’s launch director said during the countdown.
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“While we obviously had high hopes for sending our Terran 1 off today, we’re going to continue to take a measured approach so we can ultimately see this rocket off to Max Q and beyond,” Arwa Tizani Kelly, test and launch technical program manager for Relativity Space, said during live launch commentary. (Max Q refers to the period of maximum dynamic pressure on a rocket during launch.)
The company has not yet set a new launch date and will announce it on Twitter once it is available, representatives said.Â
“We will work toward our next launch window in the coming days. Due to methane/liquid natural gas propellant conditioning, it will take a few days until our next attempt,” Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab) after the scrub. “Onward, and proud of the team today for a professional and smooth first operation!”
Relativity Space’s first Terran 1 mission, called “Good Luck, Have Fun” or GLHF for short, is a shakedown mission for a 110-foot-tall (33-meter) rocket designed to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit. The two-stage rocket is novel in that 85% of its structure by mass is 3D-printed, including its nine first-stage Aeon-1 engines, which are fueled by liquid methane in another U.S. orbital first.
Terran 1 is designed to carry payloads of up to 2,700 pounds (1,250 kilograms) to low Earth orbit and can haul 1,980 pounds (900 kg) to a sun-synchronous orbit at a cost of about $12 million per flight, Relativity Space has said. The company is also working on a larger, fully reusable rocket called Terran R designed to stand 216 feet tall (66 m) and launch more than 44,000 pounds (20,000 kg) to orbit with its Aeon-R engines starting in 2024.Â
“No matter the outcome tomorrow, we are still in the early innings of a 9-inning ballgame,” Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab) before the Terran 1 launch attempt. “This launch won’t singularly define our long-term success.”
Ellis said he will be happy to see if Terran 1 can successfully pass through Max Q, since it will prove that the company’s use of additive manufacturing technology to 3D-print rockets is viable. Â
“This launch will, however, provide us with useful data and insights that will make us better prepared for our next at-bat, and is a fantastic learning platform for developing technologies directly applicable to Terran R, giving us a lot of confidence we are ahead in the race to become the next great launch company,” Ellis added. “Excited to show the world what we’ve got!”
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.Â
