Jamie Bennet
Relativity Space entered into an agreement with NASA to expand its test operations at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi.
The additional facilities will serve as a testing site for Relativity’s Aeon R 3D-printed rocket engines in 2023, themanufacturing company said Tuesday.
Aeon R engines will be installed on Terran R, Relativity’s fully reusable 3D-printed rocket. The two-stage vehicle features a 5m payload fairing and is capable of sending 20,000 kg of payload to low Earth orbit.
Relativity has broken ground on a 150-acre space at Stennis Test Complex for the construction of office buildings, engine test stands, a full-scale second stage stand and a vehicle hangar. The location will be used for engine and turbopump assembly and thrust chamber assembly trials of Aeon R engines and its components.
The company uses several buildings at the space center to conduct the industry’s first fully-integrated stage trial of a 3D-printed orbital flight article. It was able to complete more than 2,000 engine tests and multiple mission duty cycles.
“Since their arrival in the spring of 2018, Relativity Space has continued to grow as a respected member of the Stennis federal city,” said Stennis Space Center Director Rick Gilbrech. “We look forward to their continued development as an aerospace manufacturing and launch company.”
