Relativity Space@relativityspace🚀 ICYMI: @payloadspace's first annual edition of The State of Launch by @jacqfeldscher, featuring commentary from CEO @thetimellis.https://payloadspace.com/the-state-of-launch/
https://twitter.com/relativityspace/status/1775564623145771170QuoteRelativity Space@relativityspace ICYMI: @payloadspace's first annual edition of The State of Launch by @jacqfeldscher, featuring commentary from CEO @thetimellis.https://payloadspace.com/the-state-of-launch/Article Link: https://payloadspace.com/the-state-of-launch/
Relativity Space@relativityspace ICYMI: @payloadspace's first annual edition of The State of Launch by @jacqfeldscher, featuring commentary from CEO @thetimellis.https://payloadspace.com/the-state-of-launch/
Apr 5, 2024Join the aerodynamics team on a behind-the-scenes deep dive into Terran R wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel facility. Simulating a Terran R flight, the data collected is crucial in determining driving load cases for a reliable and reusable Terran R, informing critical design points and cases to ensure stage 1 landing back on Earth. 00:00 – 00:44 Why invest in a model and wind tunnel testing? 00:45 – 1:04 What are the key advantages of wind tunnel testing? 1:05 – 1:43 What is a wind tunnel? 1:44 – 2:10 NASA Langley UPWT facilities overview 2:11 – 2:55 Testing objectives 2:55 – 3:31 Units of measurement: Mach, Reynolds, and Schlieren 3:32 – 4:13 End goal: Stage 1 safe re-entry
Relativity Space@relativityspacePOV: Rejuvenating 60 years of history at the A2 test stand @NASAStennis. ⚡Welders in action🚿 Interior blasting completed🌅 Views for days
Relativity Space@relativityspaceSoarin’ over Launch Complex 16, Cape Canaveral, FL. – making room for something big, #TerranR launch pad in progress.✔️ Site cleared✔️ Site grubbed🔁 Waterline install in progress
Welcome to the MET Lab. 👇 We're going behind the scenes of tensile coupon testing – yes, intentionally breaking metal. youtu.be/tQvY4dHvdjUMaterials engineer Mikaila Risser gives us a breakdown of tensile testing, a key process for production prints. 🛠️A tensile test involves pulling a dog bone-shaped tensile coupon on a tensile frame. This measures the stress and strain at the breaking point, as well as the elastic modulus and elongation reduction. 📊These tests help us understand material properties, ensuring quality and guiding the production process. If the material doesn't meet expectations, it gets flagged as non-conformant. 🚀If a material underperforms, it's taken to the powder bed fusion (PBF) and materials and processes (M&P) teams for assessment. 🔍Further testing, like analyzing fracture surfaces with microscopes, helps identify why the material failed. 🧐The most exciting part of these tests? The break! After patiently watching metal stretch, it finally breaks with a loud bang. It’s a moment that never loses its thrill, even for seasoned engineers. 💥
According to internal documents reviewed by Ars, Relativity had difficulty printing pressure domes for the Terran R rocket. One of the documents references a "large buckling event" with a printed dome. As a result, Relativity seems likely to purchase these pressure domes from a European aerospace company.
The most interesting part of that article, as far as I'm concerned:QuoteAccording to internal documents reviewed by Ars, Relativity had difficulty printing pressure domes for the Terran R rocket. One of the documents references a "large buckling event" with a printed dome. As a result, Relativity seems likely to purchase these pressure domes from a European aerospace company.If Relativity really is abandoning 3D printed tank domes, that was the last use case for their large-scale Stargate printers. The entire rocket body is now being built conventionally, and the complex geometries (everything but barrel sections) are being built by traditional European aerospace companies. So the only 3D printing remaining at Relativity is in their engines, which is hardly unique (many New Space companies talk about how they're incorporating 3D printing into engine design and development).
Quote from: trimeta on 09/04/2024 02:28 pmThe most interesting part of that article, as far as I'm concerned:QuoteAccording to internal documents reviewed by Ars, Relativity had difficulty printing pressure domes for the Terran R rocket. One of the documents references a "large buckling event" with a printed dome. As a result, Relativity seems likely to purchase these pressure domes from a European aerospace company.If Relativity really is abandoning 3D printed tank domes, that was the last use case for their large-scale Stargate printers. The entire rocket body is now being built conventionally, and the complex geometries (everything but barrel sections) are being built by traditional European aerospace companies. So the only 3D printing remaining at Relativity is in their engines, which is hardly unique (many New Space companies talk about how they're incorporating 3D printing into engine design and development).I wonder if there's a size component to all this? As in large format 3D printing is harder, thus the Stargate printers themselves ultimately didn't work out for high dimensional stability?
So what exactly is Relativity’s competitive advantage at this point?
Quote from: M.E.T. on 09/05/2024 05:42 amSo what exactly is Relativity’s competitive advantage at this point?AFAICT additive manufacturing was never actually a significant Relativity competitive advantage because many of their competitors were using additive manufacturing when it makes sense.One competitive advantage Relativity has is their launcher Terran R should be big enough and US enough to be eligible for NSSL lane 2. Terran R's development was a bit too late to be eligible for lane 2 this year but they have a chance of being one of the three lane 2 winners next time in ~2030. To do so they need a third stage (or buy one, e.g. Impulse Space's Helios may work) and need to expend their first stage for the hardest missions. To win lane 2 business they need to not be last out of 4 launchers: Falcon/Starship, New Glenn, Vulcan, and their Terran R. Doing so is certainly not easy since those competitors are all either experienced or well funded but it may be easier than winning commercial launch contracts. Commercial contracts are harder to win because Relativity faces not only the 3 lane 2 competitors but also smaller launchers such as Neutron and Nova and foreign launchers.
