Relativity Space Raises $ 650 Million to Increase Terran R Production

Press release from: Relativity space
Posted: Tuesday June 8 2021

Relativity space, the first company to 3D print an entire rocket and build the world’s largest metal 3D printers, today announced it has closed a $ 650 million round of Series E shares. by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with the participation of investors including Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, K5 Global, Soroban Capital, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto and Spencer Rascoff, among others. Following the announcement of its fully reusable, fully 3D printed rocket, Terran R, the company’s latest round of funding enables the scale-up of the Terran R program and long-term infrastructure development.

As a 216-foot-tall two-stage rocket with a 16-foot diameter and 5-meter payload shroud, Terran R will be fully reusable and capable of launching 20,000 kg into low earth orbit, starting in 2024. on the company website. launch site at Cape Canaveral. Created in Relativity’s Factory of the Future, by the same printers and team as Terran 1, Terran R has unique aeronautical characteristics, complex structures and has the capacity to launch 20 times more payload than Terran 1. Terran R will be equipped with seven 3D printed Aeon R rocket motors capable of thrust of 302,000 lbs each, while its upper stage houses a 1 vac Aeon motor. Terran R also represents a big step towards Relativity’s mission to build the multiplanetary future of humanity, ultimately providing customers with a point-to-point space freighter capable of performing missions between Earth, Moon and Mars.

“From our founding days in Y Combinator just five years ago, we have planned to 3D print Terran 1 and then Terran R – a fully reusable rocket 20 times the size – on our Factory of the Future platform.” , said Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder. of Relativity. “Today we are one step closer to this goal. With our first Terran 1 rocket, our second product, Terran R, will continue to leverage Relativity’s disruptive approach to 3D printing – reduced number of parts, speed of innovation, improved flexibility and reliability – to deliver market the next generation of launch vehicles. Relativity was founded with a mission to 3D print entire rockets and build humanity’s industrial base on Mars. We were inspired to make this vision a reality, and believe there must be dozens if not hundreds of companies working to build the multiplanetary future of humanity on Mars. Scalable, self-sustaining 3D printing is inevitably necessary to thrive on Mars, and Terran R is the product’s second step in a long-term journey Relativity is planning for the future.

Over the past six months, the company has continued to achieve business and technical milestones, including signing its first primary customer for Terran R, the company’s fully reusable, fully 3D printed launcher. Relativity has now completed printing over 85% of the first Terran 1 orbital rocket, including its first and second stages, keeping momentum for its launch later this year from Cape Canaveral. Terran 1 continues to gain commercial ground, including a recently announced customer contract with TriSept, its first launch contract with the United States Department of Defense, and a Venture 2 Class Launch Services Demonstration (VCLS Demo 2) contract with the NASA. Over the past year, despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, Relativity has ramped up its hiring pace, which now has more than 400 employees and plans to hire an additional 200 members this year.

Disrupting 60 years of aerospace, Relativity’s radically simplified supply chain enables the company to build its rockets, including the world’s first fully 3D printed Terran 1 rocket and its fully reusable, fully 3D printed Terran rocket R, with 100 times fewer parts in less than 60 days. By merging 3D printing, artificial intelligence, proprietary software and autonomous robotics, Relativity has created a whole new value chain for aerospace, starting with orbital launch.

With a completely new, top-down approach to 3D print production, Relativity has created a new technology stack for the aerospace industry that utilizes software-driven manufacturing, exotic materials, and unique design geometries that are not possible in the industry. traditional manufacturing, resulting in unprecedented innovation and disruption in the industry. With continued high demand for Terran 1, Relativity has secured nine launch contracts from private and government customers, and with satellite constellations accounting for the bulk of the growing market, Terran R is helping the company serve its growing pipeline of commercial interest.

To learn more about Terran R, or Relativity Space and its multiplanetary mission, visit relativityspace.com.

About the space of relativity
Relativity builds the multiplanetary future of humanity. We’ve invented a new approach to designing, printing and piloting our own rockets, starting with Terran 1 – the world’s first fully 3D printed rocket.

As a vertically integrated technology platform, Relativity is at the forefront of an inevitable shift to software-defined manufacturing. By merging 3D printing, artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics, we are the pioneers of the factory of the future. Shaking up 60 years of aerospace, Relativity offers a radically simplified supply chain, building a rocket with 100 times fewer parts in less than 60 days.

We believe in a future where interplanetary life fundamentally expands the possibilities of human experience. Our long-term vision is to modernize the industrial base of humanity on Earth and on Mars.

Relativity Space is backed by leading investors including Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, BOND, Coatue, Fidelity, General Catalyst, ICONIQ Capital, K5 Global, Mark Cuban, Playground Global, Social Capital, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, Y Combinator and 3L. For more information, please visit relativityspace.com or connect with us at LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

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