At the end of March, the Terran 1 rocket had lifted off from Florida and managed to reach space (up to 134 km altitude), but not to reach the intended orbit.

Nevertheless, this test mission proved that the 3D printed rockets "are structurally viable, able to withstand maximum voltage during flight," said the Californian company.

The first results of an investigation show that the problem during the recent flight came from valves that opened too slowly. As a result, the engines did not reach their full power.

Thanks to lessons learned from the Terran 1 program, Relativity Space will now "shift its focus to the design, development and production of the next-generation Terran R rocket," the company said. Terran R was already in development, but the company provided new details about this project.

While Terran 1 was only 33.5 meters high and was only designed to carry 1,250 kg in low Earth orbit, Terran R will reach more than 80 m and can carry some 23.5 tons (or up to 33.5 tons in another version).

The bet is daring, and would compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets (capable of carrying 22.8 tons of payload into low orbit), currently the leader in this market for heavy launchers.

A first flight of Terran R is now scheduled for 2026, Relativity Space said.

The first stage of the rocket will be reusable and will return to land after liftoff on a platform in the ocean -- as with the Falcon 9 currently.

The start-up has already signed $1.65 billion worth of contracts, including with OneWeb and its satellite constellation to provide internet from space.

"Terran R was developed to meet a growing demand for these launch services for large constellations" of satellites, Relativity Space said.

"Terran 1 was like a concept car, redefining the boundaries of what is possible by developing many new technologies," the company's young boss, Tim Ellis, said in a statement. "Terran R is a product for the consumer market."

3D printing simplifies the manufacturing process and thus reduces costs. With its large 3D printing robots, the company says it divides by 100 the number of parts compared to a traditional rocket.

© 2023 AFP