Shots from team before rollout to pad yesterday - doing incredible work, record speed and everyone focused and operating on-point! 🙏
Getting ready for final ground tests, launch feeling real. At the doorstep. Photos from our technician team hard at work up high on the rocket. We are vertical again!! @relativityspace
~~Beautiful day at the Cape~~
Damn. Just looking at those ground facilities Relativity is *swimming* in money compared to Astra or ABL at a similar stage.
Almostttt there. Awesome technician team at Relativity!
Quote from: brussell on 02/08/2023 03:43 amDamn. Just looking at those ground facilities Relativity is *swimming* in money compared to Astra or ABL at a similar stage.Astra and ABL explicitly had "minimal ground facilities" as part of their Unique Selling Point. The whole "pack the launch site into shipping containers and send it anywhere with a concrete pad" concept. So it's pretty much maximally unsurprising that Relativity has more fixed ground facilities.
Any new news? Anyone at the Cape recently pass by LC-16?
It’s almost time. Terran 1, the world’s first 3D printed rocket, is tested, integrated, and vertical on the pad, awaiting its demonstration launch. Our launch window opens at 1300 ET on March 8, 2023.
A company spokesperson tells me there are no plans to conduct a static fire test before this scheduled launch; they believe they "have burned down risk significantly and have the data and insights we’ll need" from previous tests for the upcoming orbital launch attempt.
Here are a few thoughts on Relativity Space's plans to launch its Terran 1 rocket on March 8, without a final, all-up static fire test. First, kudos to the company for streaming it all live. Not everyone does this:
Two, you should set your expectations low. No company has ever launched its first, independently developed, liquid fueled rocket and had it reach orbit on the first try. And Relativity is pushing a lot of boundaries with its methane-fueled booster.
Probably the biggest test here is whether the 3D printed structure of Terran 1 can withstand the dynamic pressure of ascent through the lower atmosphere and Max Q. A nominal first stage performance is a huge achievement, IMO.
The decision to skip a final static fire suggests Relativity may have reached the F---it, Fly-it mode. Almost all rocket startups reach the point where they've worked so damn hard, and so damn long on the first rocket that they just want the damn thing to fly.
Finally, Relativity is a well capitalized startup with a superb launch team. If any company is going to succeed on the first time out, it would be them. But I think there's a sense here that the goal is getting data from this flight, rather than going orbital. But we can hope.
