Tech Briefs Magazine - April 2024 - 44

SPINOFF
www .techbriefs.com
One of Relativity Space's 3D-printed rocket
engines undergoes hot fire testing on Stennis
Space Center's E4A test stand. The company
leased a number of engine-testing facilities at
the center, where it is now building its own test
stands. (Image: Relativity Space Inc.)
and dies and tooling to manufacture
things, you have to have a decision around
the design of the vehicle or the part or
component locked in way ahead of time, "
said Van Vliet. But with a 3D printer, instead
of rebuilding the assembly line to
make a change, " we can just make changes
in CAD, print the part, treat it, and
send it back to the test stand. "
Those test stands are at Stennis, where
Relativity has agreements to use a number
of test sites. For example, it is doing
extensive testing in a cell of the center's
E1 Test Complex. " Being able to utilize the
facilities that NASA's already built at this
Stennis facility has put us leaps and bounds
ahead, " said Clay Walker, Relativity's Senior
Director of Test Operations.
Shearman agreed. " The E1 test facility
has given us the opportunity to get earlier
data on our innovative approaches, so we
can try new techniques and kind of play in
the sandbox without being burdened by
the arduous process and longer lead time
of building large stand infrastructure. "
Now the company is building its own test
complex on 150 acres at Stennis, which is
one of NASA's largest field centers, giving it
a large buffer area between engine firings
and the nearest homes and businesses.
Ultimately, NASA has a long-term goal of
fostering commercial space companies like
Relativity, from whom it hopes to one day
purchase affordable launch services.
" In the end, they're getting better performance
and lower costs, which means we
can potentially fly our payloads and astronauts
safely and at a reduced cost on some
of their missions, " Gradl agreed. " We help
44
Relativity Space is using its fourth-generation
Stargate metal 3D printer to build the body of
its rockets. The Terran 1 rocket that launched
in March of 2023 was 85 percent 3D printed by
mass, including its body and engines. (Image:
Relativity Space Inc.)
enable this commercial space economy,
and then we can take advantage of it and
free up some of our resources to do some
of the more difficult missions, returning to
the Moon and eventually on to Mars. "
NASA and the company also hope to
learn from each other as they work toward
3D printing Relativity's planned,
massive Aeon R engine, said Shearman.
The Aeon 1 engine that powered the recent
Terran 1 launch was built with an
additive manufacturing technique known
as powder bed fusion, which works well
for small engines but hits limitations as
engine size increases, he said. Aeon R is
planned to have more than 10 times the
thrust of its predecessor.
" As other 3D-printing technologies gain
in maturity - and NASA has honestly been
leading a lot of that - we look forward to
figuring out how you scale up in size, " said
Shearman. " It's something that has not yet
been conquered by the aerospace industry
for additive technology. "
By the time of its launch in March 2023,
Relativity had already sold $1.2 billion in
contracts for flights on Terran 1, with customers
including OneWeb and Intelsat.
The company later announced it would
move directly to developing the larger Terran
R rocket, with many of those contracts
likely transferring to the new rocket.
" From my point of view, additive manufacturing
allows us to deliver payload services
and launch services at a better price
point, " said Van Vliet. " And it allows us to
integrate the most state-of-the-art technologies
because we're able to make design
choices along the way. "
For more information, visit https://
spinoff.nasa.gov/Additive_Manufacturing_
Subtracts_from_Rocket_Build_Time.
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Tech Briefs, April 2024

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Tech Briefs Magazine - April 2024

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