3D Printing
3D Printing Service Contact us
Home / Aerospace / 20ft Rocket Stage 3D Printed and Ready for Test

20ft Rocket Stage 3D Printed and Ready for Test

April 13, 2021

California-based space company Relativity Space has shared a bunch of new pictures on their social media showing the progress of their metal AM rocket stage.

We thought we would re-share them here for you because rockets are cool, metal AM is cool, and large scale metal AM is even more awesome.

As you can see in the first image below, shared on the company’s Twitter account recently, the 20ft rocket stage body is being hoisted off the print platform (or print “cell”).

rocket stage
The 20 foot 2nd stage is lifted from the printer cell. (Image credit: Relativity Space)

The component will form the second stage rocket of the expendable Terran 1 rocket vehicle, and was built in just a few weeks with the aid of the company’s large scale Directed Energy Deposition (DED) system. Specifically the printer is capable of printing a foot in height per day, meaning the total 20 ft tall structure was completed in around three weeks.

The DED system in particular is named as “Stargate” and we have covered this large metal printer system in more detail in a previous article here.

But by means of summary, the Stargate printer makes use of laser-equipped Kuka robotic arms to manufacture the components, and uses an aluminium wire as feedstock. The wire is fed into a laser beam where it forms a meltpool that is guided around the structure, adding material where the meltpool passes over.

This makes it a wire-fed DED system, as opposed to a powder-based DED system (both of which exist).

In addition to the various stages being made with metal AM, the rocket engines are also 3D printed using multi-material metal printing, in this case they are adding copper to the inside of the combustion chamber, which has better thermal conductivity and therefore increases engine efficiency. The engine is named as Aeon, and the Terran 1 will be equipped with 9 of these 3D printed engines on the first stage.

Aeon engine
Aeon engine (Image credit: Relativity Space)

The company is also working on the Terran R (for “Reusable”) and that will also feature larger versions of the Aeon engine.

Terran 1 first stage
Terran 1 first stage: people for scale. (Image credit: Relativity Space)

As you may recall from previous articles, the initial plan on this project was to have the rocket built from raw materials and be ready for flight in just 60 days. Typically a rocket would take 18 months to build from scratch using traditional manufacturing processes.

Also recently, the company shared video footage of a recent rocket engine test showing duty cycle testing at Stennis, demonstrating that their AM Aeon engine is capable of being switched on and off, and is capable of performing as required over the range of a typical flight.

You can see that video below.

The Terran 1 was initially slated to launch into orbit before the end of 2020, but then 2020 happened so things have been moved back a little, with the first proper flight scheduled sometime before the end of this year.

Terran 1: Relativity Space's Rocket to Launch Thai Satellite
Related Story
Terran 1: Relativity Space’s Rocket to Launch Thai Satellite
Relativity Space Cheaper Than Competitors
Related Story
How Relativity Space 3D Prints Rockets Cheaper Than Competitors
Share:
WhatsApp Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Buffer Reddit E-mail
About the author | Phillip Keane
Phillip is an aerospace engineer from UK. He is a graduate of Coventry University (UK), International Space University (France) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), where he studied Advanced Manufacturing at the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing.
  • Home
  • Service
  • Materials
  • Contact us

3D Printer Categories

  • Desktop 3D Printers
  • Industrial 3D Printers
  • Tractus3D T2000 Tractus3D T2000
    680 (D) x 1000 (H) mm
    $27,000
    Request a Quote
  • Modix BIG Meter Modix BIG Meter
    1010 x 1010 x 1010 mm
    $11,500
    Request a Quote
  • Cosine Additive AM1 Cosine Additive AM1
    1100 x 850 x 850 mm
    $125,000 - $150,000
    Request a Quote
  • Modix BIG-120Z Modix BIG-120Z
    600 x 600 x 1200 mm
    $7,900
    Request a Quote
Join our mailinglist

Our newsletter is free & you can unsubscribe any time.

Company Information

  • What is 3D Printing?
  • Contact us
  • 3D Printing Service
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise with us
  • Media Kit
  • Nederland 3D Printing

Featured Categories

  • Latest News
  • Applications & Use Cases
  • 3D Printing Metal
  • Reviews
  • 3D Printers

Featured Companies

  • Modix
  • 3D Systems
  • Cosine Additive
  • Tractus3D

Featured Reviews

  • Anycubic Photon M3
  • Flashforge Creator 3
  • Flashforge Creator 3 Pro
  • Craftbot FLOW IDEX XL
  • BIQU B1
2022 — Strikwerda en Dehue
  • Home
  • Service
  • Materials
  • Contact us
Featured Companies
  • Modix
  • 3D Systems
  • Cosine Additive
  • Tractus3D
Featured Industries
  • Aerospace
  • Automotive
  • Construction
  • Dental
  • Environmental
  • Medical
  • Military
Company Information
  • What is 3D Printing?
  • Contact us
  • 3D Printing Service
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise with us
  • Media Kit
  • Nederland 3D Printing
We serve cookies on this site to analyze traffic, remember your preferences, and optimize your experience.
Details
Close