Launch of first 3D-printed rocket has been suspended after two failed attempts

The launch of the first 3D-printed rocket was canceled twice at the last minute on Saturday. The engines of the first stage had already started during the first attempt, but the rocket from start-up Relativity Space did not get off the ground.

The rocket was initially scheduled to launch at 1:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, but that was pushed back for an hour due to high winds at high altitude. It was called off just before launch, after the nine first-stage Aeon 1 engines shut down almost immediately after ignition. According to Relativity Space that was due to ‘a corner case in the automation of the rocket stage decoupling system’.

At 16:00 local time another attempt was made, but this time the launch was aborted before the engines were ignited. The startup attributed that low fuel pressure on the upper stage. Because that was towards the end of the launch window, a third attempt could not be made on Saturday. Relativity Space has not yet announced a new launch date.

On March 8, the first launch attempt of this rocket, which is called Terran 1, took place. Then it was blown off due to a different temperature of the liquid oxygen in the second stage.

Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket is unique in that it consists largely of 3D-printed parts. 85 percent of the mass comes from the printer, including its entire structure and ten of the first and second stage motors. According to the start-up, this should eventually make it possible to build rockets faster and cheaper. Ultimately, the company wants to make at least 90 percent of the spacecraft from 3D-printed parts.

The 3d printed Terran 1 rocket during the launch attempt