Relativity Space intends to use the small Aeon 1 engine it is developing to power its first rocket for only a few flights. Instead, the company plans to quickly perform a "block upgrade" for the Terran 1 rocket, which will serve as a bridge to the much larger, more capable Terran R rocket. "We’ve always envisioned Terran 1 being a development platform," said Tim Ellis, the co-founder and chief executive of California-based Relativity Space, in an interview with Ars. Relativity, which seeks to 3D-print the majority of its rocket parts, is continuing to work toward the first launch of Terran 1 this year. Powered by nine Aeon 1 rocket engines, this small rocket has a lift capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low Earth orbit. This first Terran 1 mission will not carry any customer payloads. The second flight of Terran 1 will carry a "Venture Class Launch Services" small satellite payload for NASA, awarded by the space agency in 2020 to support US-based small launch companies. Relativity plans to upgrade the Terran 1 rocket by moving from a nine-engine configuration to just a single Aeon-R engine. This engine, nine of which will eventually power the reusable Terran R rocket, is projected to have about 300,000 pounds of thrust, or more than 10 times that of the Aeon-1 engine. Engineers and technicians at Relativity are finalizing integration work on the first and second stages of the first Terran 1 rocket to launch. The second stage will soon ship to Stennis Space Center, Miss., for tests. Ellis said the Aeon 1 engines have completed acceptance testing. (Source: Ars/Technica, 02/22/22)
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