A new company is revolutionizing the aerospace industry by 3D printing rockets. The number of rockets launched in the past years has grown exponentially. Last year, 145 rockets launched out into space, most carrying satellite payload but several deploying spacecraft on solar exploration missions. The number is only expected to grow this year.
Building things in space is complicated. 3D printing in space is a solution that responds to the nature of space and the difficulty of taking up raw materials, tools, and man-pówer. NASA is already testing 3D printing technology, including health research 3D printers, organ 3D printers, and even 3D printed habitats for Mars.
Relativity is building rockets from the ground up using only 3D printing. They are not only 3D printing the fuselage but all parts of the rockets. From payload ferrying components to guidance, structure, propulsion, fuel tanks, and even engines, Relativity 3D prints it all. Traditional rocket building can take years, cost billions, and requires hundreds of thousands of parts, special tools and platforms, and an army of workers. Relativity says their rockets can be built in 60 days in a fully automated construction factory, and the costs can drop from 5 to 10 to even 100.
Transforming The Way Rockets Are Built
While the automotive industry has advanced in robotics and automated factories, the aerospace industry has remained unchanged since the days of the Apollo missions. Rocket and spacecraft factories still rely on thousands of workers who hand-build and put together thousands of parts. A rocket-like NASA’s superheavy Space Launch System SLS, which will take humans back to the Moon, took 11 years to develop and build. Special giant tools had to be constructed to stack and weld the rocket. Relativity says the days of hand tool rocket manufacturing are over. Their vision is software-driven manufacturing.
The company builds its one-piece rockets using their particular software. Then, when they are ready to construct, they just hit ‘Print.’ Their 3D printer is not just any printer. They call it “Stargate,” and it is the largest 3D printer in the world, printing the largest 3D objects in the world. The printer uses a special aluminum alloy stringed into a carousel. The team worked for years perfecting and developing unique software to get it right. The printer uses laser and plasma to melt the alloy and shape it, even considering the variations the metal will go through once it cools down — the result, perfection measurable to differences of less than a human hair.
The company also 3D prints its own engines. Their engines use innovative fuel, liquid oxygen, and liquid natural gas. Known as the fuel of the future and best for rockets, the fuel is also the easiest to make on Mars eventually. Their tests show that their rocket structure is even stronger than traditional rockets. 3D printing allows the company to do things that used to be impossible. They are changing the way rockets look by creating bioinspired designs with optimal strength and performance. The company also has big ambitions. They want to reach beyond in space and land on Mars to install a “3D rocket factory of the future.” Relativity has already booked launches across its agenda, received billions in funding from investor rounds, has ties with the U.S. Airforce, and recently signed a contract with NASA.
Source: Relativity
