Company - Relativity Space
Product/Service - Stargate, Terran-R, Terran-1
- Classification
- Surface Habitats & Structures
- Category
- Surface Habitats
Space Construction Company
Commercial Space Station
In-Space Manufacturing
Space Data Centre
- Fields
- Space Construction Company
Additive Manufacturing (3D printing)
- Status
- Concept, Development
- First launch
- 2026
- His goal is similar to Elon Musk’s with SpaceX, although Relativity isn’t focused on launching people. Instead, Ellis sees Relativity helping build on Mars by initially sending a small 3D-printer for “the first object manufactured on another planet by humanity,” which is “the future that we’re going towards.”
- To Ellis, additive manufacturing is “inevitably required to build an industrial base on Mars.
Relativity Space submitted a proposal for NASA's Commercial Space Station CLD Program. The company had not disclosed plans for a commercial space station and the source selection statement offers few details beyond a “reusable and returnable lab with a return capability.” Tim Ellis, chief executive of Relativity, told SpaceNews Jan. 31 that the company has a “very early concept” on how the upper stage of its Terran R vehicle could be used as a commercial LEO destination, but declined to go into details.
Eric Schmidt apparently bought Relativity Space to put data centers in orbit, 2025-05-02.
Status Comment
With Terran-R rocket now having a smaller utilization of additive manufacturing, the early visions about 3D printing on Mars are unknown as of early 2024. Marking Status as Concept. Potentially need to add as a new Space Data Center entry.
Sources
Most sources should be linked in the texts and headings as revealed by mouse-over, but here are they listed for visibility.
News, Research, Projects and Patents
| Title | Type | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| The future of the $447 billion space industry in 15 incredible pictures | Infographics | 2021-12-03 | > An exclusive look at the booming space industry and three of the companies building it: Relativity Space, ABL Space, and Millennium Space. |
| Relativity Space to Develop Real-time Detection, Correction During 3D Printing | Project | 2020-07-11 | > Relativity Space will work on developing a system capable of the real-time detection and correction of defects during 3D printing with the help of NASA funding. |