Another maiden flight… and a failure, this time for Relativity Space and its “3D printed” launcher. The company, which nevertheless displays its joy at having passed the first stages of the flight, seems confident for the rest of the operations. But it is sometimes a long way to orbit!
As a result, Terran 1 will probably not be the first methane-powered launcher to reach its orbital goal.
This time she took off
Relativity Space teams were cautious. Moreover, for this flight, the small Terran 1 launcher did not carry any satellite of its future customers, nor even a removable fairing. A simple cone and test mass had been installed on the second stage of the rocket.
Similarly, company founder and CEO Tim Ellis, 31, told the press that he especially wanted Terran 1 to go past “Max-Q,” the moment of the rise during which the atmospheric pressure on the sides of the rocket (depending on altitude and speed) is maximum. And yet, this takeoff was indeed aimed at orbit! After two failed takeoff attempts, it was on March 23 at 4:25 a.m. (Paris time) that Terran 1 reached the end of its countdown. The beautiful adventure lasted about 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
A failure, but a lot of satisfaction
The 9 Aeon 1 engines of the first stage ignited well, and it seems that the latter fulfilled its mission in full, propelling the entire launcher to more than 7,400 km/h. After its push, it ejected so that the second stage (equipped for its part with a single vacuum-adapted Aeon 1 engine) could do its part of the work. That’s when the orbital attempt ended in failure.
Indeed, despite the presence of flames for a few seconds, it seems that the second stage did not start correctly. Telemetry broadcast live showed no acceleration. Despite the joy of the team, which passed and validated many stages, the shooting ended in the Atlantic. Nevertheless, for Tim Ellis and Relativity Space, the contract is fulfilled and the concept of a “3D printed launcher” is validated. About 85% of the launcher, capable of carrying almost a ton into low orbit, is directly produced by a set of large additive manufacturing robots.
Blue flames, okay, but what about orbit?
Of course, it’s a bit early to talk about Relativity Space’s activities in the coming months. The company must first understand what went wrong before correcting the problem and being able to consider a second lift-off to orbit. With customers? The demand is strong.
Tim Ellis had also hinted that his launchers might switch to their second-generation, more powerful and designed to be reusable engine, Aeon R. All of this is uncertain. Nevertheless, Relativity Space is largely losing its chances of becoming the first company to send a payload into orbit with a methane launch vehicle. Indeed, the next attempts will rest on the shoulders of United Launch Alliance with its large Vulcan launcher, and on SpaceX with its gigantic Starship. Unless LandSpace, in China, has the time to try the adventure again with its Zhuque-2 rocket (a first copy, last December, had just failed). The inaugural firings, ruthless adventures.
Source : CNBC
0