Lift-off for world's first 3D printed rocket

On March 23, 2023, the world's first rocket made with a 3D printer finally launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Terran 1 was built by Relativity Space and is unique because 85 percent of its mass is 3D printed and made up of a mixture of metals. The rocket stands at 33.5 metres tall and has a diameter of 2.2 metres. Unfortunately, the rocket experienced a technical problem while flying and didn't reach the expected destination.

Relativity Space believes that building rockets by 3D printing will make the process faster and more affordable. It's also working on a larger and fully reusable rocket, which is called Terran R. Terran rockets will be powered by liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas, which are believed to be the fuels of the future. Experts hope these fuels can power trips as far as Mars.

The Terran rockets are designed to deliver cargo into orbit, to the moon and even beyond that. Although the launch of the Terran 1 didn't go as planned, the Relativity Space team's satisfied with the results. Technical program manager for Relativity Space, Arwa Tizani Kelly said they gathered valuable data.

Arwa Tizani Kelly: "As you heard from our launch director, we did have an anomaly with stage two during flight. But maiden launches are always exciting and today's flight was no exception. Although we didn't reach orbit, we significantly exceeded our key objectives for this first launch, and that objective was to gather data at max q, one of the most demanding phases of flight, and achieve stage separation."

View Less