Relativity Space: 3D-Printing Rockets, From Terran 1 to Terran R

Relativity Space believes the future of rockets is metal printing at scale. Its Stargate printers produce rocket components — including tanks, structures, and engine parts — in a fraction of the time and with one-tenth the parts of traditional rockets. Terran 1 reached space in March 2023; the company is now building Terran R, a fully reusable medium-lift vehicle.

Why 3D-print a rocket?

• Fewer parts means fewer failure points. Terran 1 had ~100 parts versus thousands for a comparable rocket.
• Iteration is faster. Design changes are software updates to the printer, not retooling.
• Complex internal geometry — like cooling channels in engine chambers — is impossible to machine but trivial to print.
• Less waste. Subtractive machining cuts away most of the metal stock. Printing only adds material where needed.

Founded

2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone

HQ

Long Beach, California

Engine

Aeon (Aeon 1 for Terran 1, Aeon R for Terran R)

Terran 1 maiden flight

March 23, 2023

Terran R first flight target

Late 2020s

Largest 3D printer

Stargate v4 — multi-meter-scale wire-fed metal arm

Terran 1: the proof of concept

Terran 1 launched in March 2023 from Cape Canaveral. The first stage performed nominally, max-Q was achieved, and stage separation occurred. The upper stage failed to ignite, so the rocket did not reach orbit — but the mission successfully demonstrated that a primarily 3D-printed structure could fly. After Terran 1, Relativity discontinued the small-launch program to focus entirely on Terran R.

Terran R: the bet

Terran R is roughly 33,500 kg to LEO (reusable), nine-engine first stage, fully reusable. The vehicle is designed for the constellation-deployment market dominated by Falcon 9. It uses upgraded Aeon R engines and significantly larger printed structures than Terran 1.

Why this matters

Relativity is testing a thesis: that the path to faster, cheaper rockets runs through manufacturing, not just engine design. If Terran R flies and recovers reliably, the case for printed-first design philosophy will be hard to ignore.