The Genius of 3D Printed Rockets

Summary

Relativity Space, a pioneering startup, is revolutionizing space travel with the world's largest 3D metal printer, capable of manufacturing an entire rocket, including fuel tanks and engines, within 60 days. This innovative approach reduces the need for traditional manufacturing tools and accelerates production time from years to months. The company's vision is to democratize space access, potentially making space travel more affordable and contributing to humanity's expansion to Mars. The video also features an Omaze campaign offering a chance to win a trip to space with Virgin Galactic, supporting Space for Humanity's mission for a sustainable future.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Relativity Space is a startup that has built the world's largest 3D metal printer to manufacture entire rockets, including fuel tanks and engines, within 60 days.
• 🔥 The printing process involves a plasma discharge and wire melt team, with the rocket's body being effectively melted together one tiny bit at a time.
• 🌡️ The temperature used in the process is just above the melting point for aluminum, which is approximately 660 degrees Celsius.
• 🧵 The raw material for the rocket is an aluminum alloy wire spool, from which the printer operates at about 10 inches per second.
• 🛰️ 3D printing a rocket offers advantages such as reduced manufacturing time and the ability to create complex parts that are difficult with traditional techniques.
• ⚙️ Traditional rocket manufacturing requires building tools before the rocket, like NASA's Space Launch System which took 11 years to develop compared to Relativity Space's 5.5 years.
• 💡 Relativity Space uses software to simulate the print before printing, which helps to avoid issues like warping and material falling out of place.
• 🔩 The surface roughness of the 3D printed rocket does not cause aerodynamic problems and is smoothed out in the joint sections post-printing.
• 🌟 Metal 3D printing has been used in the aerospace industry for over a decade, mainly for small complex parts like injectors, and has been adopted industry-wide.
• 🛠️ 3D printing reduces the number of parts needed, which is beneficial for high-heat areas like the combustion chamber, where traditionally thousands of small pipes would be needed.
• 🔄 The strength of 3D printed materials can be greater than traditionally built parts due to the rapid melting and cooling process, allowing for the development of custom strong alloys.
• 🔄 Rapid iteration is another benefit of 3D printing, enabling quick building, testing, and redesigning of parts, which is integral to software-driven manufacturing.
• 🚀 The future of Relativity Space includes plans for rockets capable of reaching the moon and Mars, with the ultimate vision of building an industrial base on Mars.

Q & A

Who built the world's largest 3D metal printer?

Relativity Space, a startup aiming to print an entire rocket in just 60 days, built the world's largest 3D metal printer.

What is the melting point of aluminum?

The melting point of aluminum is 660 degrees Celsius.

Why are stiffeners added to the rocket structure?

Stiffeners are added to prevent the rocket from buckling and crumpling, similar to how pressure inside an unopened Coke can prevents it from being easily crushed.

What is the primary reason for using 3D printing to manufacture rockets?

3D printing allows for rapid iteration, reduces the number of parts, and eliminates the need for custom tooling, significantly cutting down production time and costs.

What are the four major systems of a rocket?

The four major systems of a rocket are payload, guidance, structural, and propulsion.

How does 3D printing improve the manufacturing of rocket injectors?

3D printing allows rocket injectors to be made in one piece, reducing the production time from nine months to two weeks and cutting costs by ten times.

What is one of the challenges in 3D printing rockets, and how is it addressed?

One challenge is that printing without prior simulation can result in warped and unusable parts. Relativity Space addresses this by using software that reverse warps the parts before printing to ensure they are perfectly straight.

What is the temperature inside a rocket's combustion chamber?

The temperature inside a rocket's combustion chamber can reach up to 3,500 Kelvin, which is hot enough to melt virtually any metal.

How does 3D printing reduce the complexity of manufacturing rocket nozzles?

3D printing allows for the creation of cooling channels directly within the rocket nozzle, eliminating the need for thousands of individual pipes and significantly simplifying the manufacturing process.

What long-term vision does Relativity Space have for its 3D printing technology?

Relativity Space aims to shrink its factory down to something that can be launched to Mars to build an industrial base, ultimately supporting the vision of human settlement on Mars.

How does the surface roughness of 3D printed rockets affect their performance?

The surface roughness only adds an extra 5 to 10% of the mass and does not cause any aerodynamic problems, making the rockets aerodynamically equivalent to traditionally manufactured rockets.

Why is rapid iteration a significant advantage in 3D printing rocket parts?

Rapid iteration allows for quick testing and redesigning, enabling continuous improvements in rocket parts without the need for fixed tooling, which speeds up the development process.

How does 3D printing contribute to lowering the cost of space travel?

3D printing reduces the number of parts, eliminates the need for custom tooling, and allows for rapid iteration, which collectively lowers the production costs and, consequently, the cost of space travel.

What is the purpose of the partnership between Omaze and Space for Humanity?

The partnership aims to expand access to space and train global leaders to create a sustainable future, with part of the contributions supporting this cause.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to 3D Printed Rockets by Relativity Space

The script begins with an introduction to the world's largest 3D metal printer, developed by startup company Relativity Space. Their goal is to manufacture an entire rocket, including critical components like fuel tanks and rocket engines, within a mere 60 days. The narrator provides a firsthand account of witnessing the 3D printing process, highlighting the impressive scale and precision of the technology. The video is sponsored by Omaze, offering viewers a chance to win a trip to space. The process involves a wire melt team and a print head that operates with plasma discharge, melting aluminum alloy wire at a rate of about 10 inches per second. The raw material for the rocket is a spool of aluminum alloy wire, and the rocket's structure is incrementally built up through precise deposition. The script also touches on the safety precautions required when observing the UV radiation emitted during the welding process.

05:05

🔧 Technicalities and Benefits of 3D Printing in Aerospace

This paragraph delves into the technical aspects and benefits of 3D printing in the aerospace industry. It explains how traditional rocket manufacturing requires the creation of complex tools and infrastructure, exemplified by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and its Vertical Assembly Center (VAC). In contrast, Relativity Space, despite being only five and a half years old, plans to launch their first rocket within the year. The script discusses the advantages of 3D printing, such as the reduction in the number of parts and the ability to create complex geometries that are difficult or impossible with traditional manufacturing methods. It also covers the process of post-printing machining to achieve a smooth metal surface and the use of simulation to prevent warping and ensure structural integrity. The benefits of 3D printing are further illustrated with examples like the rocket's injector, which traditionally consists of over a thousand pieces but can now be printed as a single unit in a fraction of the time and at a lower cost.

10:06

🛠️ Strength and Innovations of 3D Printed Rocket Components

The third paragraph addresses common misconceptions about the strength of 3D printed metal components. It explains that the materials used can be stronger than traditionally manufactured parts due to the rapid melting and cooling process, which allows for the development of custom alloys. The script highlights the rapid iteration enabled by 3D printing, allowing for quick testing and redesign, which is a significant advantage in the development of rocket engines. It also discusses the future integration of non-printed components into the 3D printing process. The potential of 3D printing to revolutionize rocket design is explored, with the ability to create smooth, curvy, and bio-inspired structures that would be impractical with conventional manufacturing methods. The script introduces the next rocket model, Terran R, which will be even larger and incorporates these innovative designs.

15:07

🌌 Vision for the Future: 3D Printing and Mars Colonization

The final paragraph outlines the long-term vision of Relativity Space, which includes establishing an industrial base on Mars using 3D printing technology. It discusses the founder's belief in the necessity for numerous companies to contribute to making Mars habitable. The script contrasts the traditional aerospace manufacturing process with the streamlined, automated approach of 3D printing, which reduces the number of parts and eliminates the need for fixed tooling. It also speculates on the future of 3D printed rockets and the company's position as experts in the field. The video concludes with a sponsored segment by Omaze, offering viewers a chance to win a trip to space through Virgin Galactic, with the opportunity to experience weightlessness and visit Spaceport America with Sir Richard Branson. The sponsorship also supports Space for Humanity, an organization focused on expanding space access and training global leaders for a sustainable future.

Keywords

💡3D Metal Printer

A 3D metal printer is a machine that uses additive manufacturing techniques to create metal objects layer by layer. It's integral to the video's theme as it allows for the construction of complex parts like rocket engines and fuel tanks. The script mentions the world's largest 3D metal printer built by Relativity Space, which is capable of printing an entire rocket, demonstrating a significant advancement in manufacturing technology.

💡Relativity Space

Relativity Space is a startup company focused on revolutionizing the aerospace industry by using 3D printing technology to manufacture rockets. In the script, they are highlighted for their innovative approach to rocket production, aiming to print an entire rocket in just 60 days, which underscores a shift from traditional manufacturing methods to more efficient and cost-effective ones.

💡UV Radiation

UV, or ultraviolet radiation, is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is mentioned in the script as a safety concern around the 3D printing process. The script warns that there's a lot of UV coming off the welds, which can cause sunburn if one looks directly at it, indicating the intense energy involved in the printing process.

💡Plasma Discharge

Plasma discharge is a process used in the 3D printing of metals, where an electric current is passed through a gas to create a plasma that aids in the melting of metal. The script describes how the plasma discharge, along with the laser, is used to control the deposition of metal in the rocket's construction, highlighting a key technical aspect of the 3D printing process.

💡Aluminum Alloy

An aluminum alloy is a material composed of aluminum mixed with other elements to enhance its properties. In the context of the video, the raw metal used for printing the entire rocket is an aluminum alloy wire spool, which is melted and printed at a rate of about 10 inches per second, demonstrating the material's role in modern aerospace manufacturing.

💡Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of vehicles that fly within and outside the Earth's atmosphere. The script discusses how traditional aerospace engineering has been transformed by the advent of 3D printing, allowing for more complex and efficient designs like those being developed by Relativity Space.

💡Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber is a part of a rocket engine where propellants burn to produce high-pressure and high-temperature gases. The script explains how 3D printing allows for the creation of intricate designs, such as the injector within the combustion chamber, which is critical for efficient rocket propulsion.

💡Rapid Iteration

Rapid iteration refers to the ability to quickly create, test, and refine designs or products. The script mentions that 3D printing enables rapid iteration in rocket design, allowing for continuous improvement and innovation, as opposed to the slower, more rigid processes of traditional manufacturing.

💡Bio-Inspired Design

Bio-inspired design is an approach to designing objects or systems that are based on structures and functions found in nature. The script discusses how 3D printing makes it possible to create smooth, curvy, and bio-inspired designs for rockets, which would be difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional manufacturing methods.

💡Factory of the Future

The 'factory of the future' is a concept that envisions highly automated, efficient, and flexible manufacturing environments. In the script, Relativity Space's approach to rocket production using 3D printing is described as embodying this concept, with the potential to revolutionize not just rocketry but also the broader aerospace industry.

💡Space Exploration

Space exploration encompasses the scientific investigation and human exploration of celestial structures and space itself. The script touches on the long-term vision of Relativity Space, which includes not only revolutionizing rocket manufacturing but also contributing to space exploration by establishing an industrial base on Mars.

Highlights

Relativity Space has built the world's largest 3D metal printer capable of printing an entire rocket, including fuel tanks and engines, in just 60 days.

The 3D printed rocket is designed to withstand the intense heat and pressure of space travel, with a melting point significantly above aluminum's 660 degrees Celsius.

Relativity Space's innovative process involves using a wire spool of aluminum alloy melted by a combination of lasers and plasma arc discharge at a rate of about 10 inches per second.

The company has developed software to simulate and reverse warp the 3D printed parts, ensuring precision and alignment within a human hair's width.

Traditional rocket manufacturing requires building tools before the rocket, exemplified by NASA's Space Launch System which took 11 years to develop.

Relativity Space, in contrast to traditional methods, is only five and a half years old and plans to launch their first rocket the same year of the interview.

3D printing allows for significant reduction in the number of parts, as seen with the rocket engine injector which traditionally consists of over a thousand pieces.

The rocket's structural integrity is ensured through printed stiffeners that prevent buckling, similar to the support provided by a Coke can's internal pressure.

Relativity Space's 3D printing process can produce a rocket nozzle with integrated cooling channels in a single piece, unlike traditional assembly requiring thousands of pipes.

The printed materials are stronger than traditionally built ones due to the rapid melting and cooling process and custom alloys developed in-house.

3D printing enables rapid iteration of designs, allowing Relativity Space to continually improve and manufacture engine versions in a month.

Relativity Space aims to transform the rocket design paradigm, making parts that would be impractical or impossible with traditional techniques.

The company's long-term vision includes building an industrial base on Mars using the 3D printing technology and the 'factory of the future' concept.

3D printing reduces the cost of rocket production, with the potential to make space travel more affordable and accessible.

Relativity Space's approach to rocket manufacturing is likened to the shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, focusing on an entirely new design and production methodology.

The company's 3D printed rocket, Terran One, and its printer, Stargate, are part of a new era in aerospace manufacturing, named after the video game StarCraft.

A fully 3D printed rocket could have a hundred times fewer parts than traditional rockets, revolutionizing the aerospace factory's fundamental operations.

Omaze is sponsoring a chance to win a trip to space with Virgin Galactic, promoting Space for Humanity's mission to expand space access and train global leaders for a sustainable future.

Transcripts

- This is the world's largest 3D metal printer.

It was built by Relativity Space,

a startup that aims to print an entire rocket,

including fuel tanks and rocket engines, in just 60 days.

I'm like looking inside a 3D printed rocket

that is actually gonna go to space.

This giant hunk of metal, it's unbelievable.

This video is sponsored by Omaze.

Offering you the chance to win a trip to space.

More about that at the end of the show.

- There's a lot of UV coming off the welds,

you can film it, but don't look directly at it.

You get sunburned fast, so it's like you're suiting up

to go in a volcano.

All right, we're gonna go in to the 3D printer,

and see how it works.

All right, so, yep, just hold this up.

Don't look at it.

We are in the printer.

- I can see it over there.

- If we walk around here, we can get up close.

(machinery whirring)

(machinery beating)

So that's the wire melt team,

and the print head moving around.

So that's the plasma discharge, and it's hard to tell,

but it's doing things every couple of milliseconds,

it's actually changing the electric wave form,

which is how it's controlling the deposition so well.

- Do you know the temperature of it?

Like, is it just above melt temp?

- It's just above melting for aluminum.

Yeah, probably a few hundred degrees above.

- The melting point of aluminum is 660 degrees Celsius.

So the whole body of the rocket

is effectively melted together one tiny bit at a time.

- All the raw metal

for the whole rocket that's printed is this.

It's a, you know, we kind of joke

it's like Charlotte's web.

Like a spider silk, but this is an aluminum alloy

that's on a wire spool.

We actually print about 10 inches a second.

So this wire is really going super fast,

and then the combination of lasers and plasma arc discharge

are working to melt both of them together at the same time.

- So where does the wire come out?

- So it's right there, and then the electric arc discharge

happens right at the tip of the wire too.

- This is a camera. - Yeah, that's a camera.

- But why would you want to 3D print a rocket?

Is it just because we can?

It's funny to me that

you had this experience with 3D printing where you're like,

oh, 3D printing is clearly the future.

Whereas, I feel like a lot of people's experience

with 3D printers as mine has been,

it's like incredibly frustrating.

I feel like 3D printing is that thing

that seems like it should be great,

and yet whenever I try it,

I don't get a result that I'm happy with.

- Yeah, I know.

I can tell you, we had plenty of experiences

the first couple of years,

where we ended up with a pile of metal and it didn't work.

- But there are actually good reasons to 3D print a rocket.

A rocket has four major systems.

Payload, guidance, structural, and propulsion.

The bulk of the rocket is made up of the propulsion system,

including the propellant tanks and the rocket engines.

Cryogenic fuel and oxidizer are pumped

through an injector into the combustion chamber

where they react, releasing an enormous amount of heat.

This causes the exhaust gases to expand,

exiting the rocket nozzle at high velocity.

The faster this exit velocity

and the higher the mass flow rate,

the more thrust that can be generated.

So rockets are huge, complex engineering projects,

which up to this point have largely been manufactured

using traditional techniques.

That means before you can build the rocket,

you first have to build the tools to build the rocket.

For example, to build NASA's next huge rocket,

the Space Launch System or SLS,

they first needed to construct

the vertical assembly center or VAC.

This is a 170 foot tall tool for welding together

the domes, rings, and barrel sections

of the rocket's fuel tanks.

- They built that like an aerospace thing,

and they've had to spin up all these custom tooling designs

and validate that those work

before actually starts building the rocket.

And they finally got one being assembled on the pad

after 11 years of development.

In contrast, Relativity Space the company,

is just five and a half years old,

and they plan to launch their first rocket this year.

- I see this as a like old engineering style

versus Silicon valley style of build something,

figure out what's wrong with it,

and build another thing that fixes those, right?

The differences, I've always done that with software.

These guys are doing it with aerospace hardware.

- So this is the actual rocket tank structure

of what we're gonna be launching to orbit

at the end of this year.

So this actual thing is launching to space.

- That will go to space?

- This will go to space,

and it's by far the largest 3D printed product really,

of any type ever made that's gonna fly.

I think maybe of any type in the world.

- But it still looks 3D printed.

Like you can still see the layers.

- Yeah, yeah, you can still see the layers.

It only adds an extra 5 to 10% of the mass

with the roughness.

When you actually cross section the material

and look at the machine parts of it,

it looks like normal metal.

Like actually at this end, this is printed as well.

We just machine it afterwards.

So it looks like normal metal in the joint sections.

- Does the surface roughness cause any aerodynamic problems?

- No, none at all.

Yeah, it's actually the exact same aerodynamically.

This whole thing, we simulate the print before printing,

because if you just printed, you know, the 3D file

and said press print, you would end up with a printer

that's warped and like material falling all over the place

that wouldn't actually work.

So we've invented software that reverse warps

the whole part before printing it.

So the robots are actually doing this

really wobbly, weird shape,

but then it's actually perfectly straight

within a human hair at the entire length.

- As it cools - As it cools.

The warpy thing turns into the...

- And then we simulate all of that.

So it's a big computational solver

that simulates it, and there's many, many other problems

we've had to solve to actually get

printing a rocket to work.

But it's all these little pieces

over the last couple of years,

and we've really started to hit some breakthroughs,

which is also why now you see a whole rocket.

Yeah, you can step up here actually

if you want. - Can I?

- Yeah, yeah.

(man laughs)

- Hello.

I'm like looking inside a 3D printed rocket

that is actually gonna go to space.

- Yes.

- This giant hunk of metal.

It's unbelievable.

There's like rings inside.

- Those are printed in stiffeners.

And so those help prevent the rocket

from buckling and crumpling.

So if you had a Coke can, and didn't pop the tab,

if you try to step on it, it's almost impossible

because there's pressure inside

that keeps it from buckling.

But then when you pop the tab,

there's no pressure and you can crunch it super easy.

It's not hard at all.

So rockets are the same.

The 50 PSI of pressure,

which is about the same as a car tire,

keeps it inflated and keeps it from crumpling,

but then the stiffeners also help keep it rigid.

- Yeah, so believe it or not,

a rocket tank is thinner versus its diameter

than a Coke can.

So when you look at a Coke can,

you know how big it is and then how thin it is,

a rocket tank is actually thinner than that.

So yeah, it's pretty light.

It has to be very light.

- Sure.

Aerospace companies started using metal 3D printing

over a decade ago to construct small complex parts.

For example, the injector.

- That is the most important part of any rocket engine,

where you basically gotta take the liquid propellant,

and turn it into a fine mist that mixes really rapidly.

And those have actually been transitioned

to 3D printing all over the industry.

- Traditionally, something like this,

it's a bucket engine injector.

So it mixes liquid oxygen

and liquid methane propellants together,

and this is what actually produces all the fire and flame

that is in a rocket engine.

Traditionally, it would be over a thousand individual pieces

and it would take nine months,

but here we're 3D printing the whole thing in one piece.

It takes two weeks and it costs 10 times less.

- One of the big benefits of 3D printing

is reducing the number of parts.

Have you ever thought about

how inside a rockets combustion chamber, it gets really hot.

Up to 3,500 Kelvin.

That's hot enough to melt virtually any metal.

So how do the combustion chamber and rocket nozzle not melt?

The answer is they're cooled by passing

the cryogenic propellants over them.

- On the Space Shuttle main engines.

I love to talk about them because inside those engines,

it's hot enough to boil iron.

On the outside, you can freeze stuff

to the exterior of this because you're running liquid

hydrogen through these things.

But to make those,

you basically had to take thousands of very small pipes,

and then you would form them

into the shape of the combustion chamber and the nozzle,

and then you would braze weld them together.

And this was a ridiculously labor-intensive task.

You would have 1,080 individual pipes running up the side,

all having to be weld together

to make the combustion chamber and the nozzle

on the Space Shuttle engines.

So you can actually 3D print these things.

- This is a rocket nozzle being 3D printed,

and you can see the channels for the cryogenic propellants

being printed right into the single part

instead of having to add a thousand pipes on the outside.

Smaller parts like these are typically 3D printed

using metal powder and lasers.

- So you can see the cooling channels

are all being built as the one piece.

So this is a nozzle.

It really just lays down a layer of powder

that's about a 20th the thickness of a human hair.

So it's really, really fine layers

just over and over and over and over relentlessly

for probably about a week or so,

and then out comes the rocket nozzle

all printed as one piece.

It's way cheaper than traditional.

And this has four lasers going at once.

- That's amazing.

- I get asked a lot, well, aren't 3D printed metals

not very strong?

Or how can it actually work?

But the printed materials are stronger

than they would be built traditionally, actually.

It's counterintuitive.

- It is.

- Because we develop our own custom alloys in house.

So we have a whole material science team

just developing our own alloys for 3D printing,

and the fact that it melts and then cools and solidifies

very, very quickly, you can take advantage

of that physics principle to get really strong alloys.

- Another major benefit of 3D printing

is that it allows for rapid iteration.

You can build a part quickly, test it,

and then redesign rapidly and print again.

- So this is a version of the engine

that's about three years old at this point,

but what's amazing is when you actually look

at the engine design today,

it looks entirely different than this.

So each version we build, we can iterate and make better.

So that's the other, you know,

when we say software driven manufacturing,

that's really what it is.

Since you don't have fixed tooling,

all the part geometries are just controlled

via the CAD model, and then the printers just print

direct from file essentially.

It means you can actually change the design extremely fast.

So building a whole engine only takes us about a month.

So then a month later, you can do a better version,

and a month later, a better version than that.

So this particular one will actually be,

I believe one of the first flight engines

that's actually launching to orbit on our first rocket.

- So this tubing, not 3D printed, right?

- Not today.

- Okay.

- In the future versions, we're actually integrating that

into the printed housings.

And we're gonna have a way that that's all printed too.

- Perhaps the biggest impact

of the 3D printing approach could be to totally transform

what a rocket looks like.

With 3D printing, engineers can build parts

that would be impractical or impossible

with traditional techniques.

Smooth, curvy, bio-inspired designs

are just as easy to print as ordinary structures.

- This is actually part of our next rocket, Terran R.

So it's even larger.

- This is like the base of a tank.

- Yeah. Yeah.

So it's gonna go out.

It's almost done printing.

It's gonna go out about to here.

So it's 16 foot diameter, but it's almost like a shell.

- I was gonna say like, this reminds me of suddenly

we're in The Little Mermaid or something.

- Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's just for stiffness though.

- It's not that you plan to make it bio inspired.

It's like that structure is actually the optimal structure.

- Yeah, yeah.

- We're actually designing many features in the rocket

that could not be manufactured unless it was 3D printed,

which is one of the secret sauces

of why you had to build a whole company around it,

is because our rocket actually looks

entirely different 3D printed than it does traditionally.

Like in my mind, it's been more akin

to like gas internal combustion engine to electric.

You know, really, people are trying to put batteries

and electric motors into existing products for decades.

Like everyone knew electric vehicles were the future,

but Nissan and Ford had really not compelling products

for a long time.

It wasn't until a company came along called Tesla

that decided, well, actually the shift to electrification

means the batteries, the electric motors, the factory,

the design of the product,

how we're actually gonna scale the company,

the supply chain, all of it's different

because of electrification.

I mean, that's in some ways,

the dirty secret of electric cars

and why they're able to be automated in production

because the part count is so much lower.

So for a fully 3D printed rocket,

we have a hundred times fewer parts,

which is what we're guiding to.

There's no fixed tooling in our factory at all.

Unlike the rest of aerospace

that's still really, 60 years later,

even since Apollo building products

one at a time by hand with hundreds of thousands

to millions of individual parts.

And no one's really changed that paradigm

of how an aerospace factory actually fundamentally works.

- Yeah, this is the new fully 3D printed rocket.

So yeah, we'll have dragon fly wing type structures

and we're building it so.

But that's the first one,

and then that's that one for scale.

So yeah, it is definitely bigger.

Yeah, so our rocket is named Terran One and Terran R,

and then our 3D printer's Stargate.

So all the things here at Relativity

are named after StarCraft.

So yeah, of course, the Stargate printer

was with the Protoss used to warp in spaceships.

And so, that's what's warping in spaceships at Relativity.

We have a system in our avionics called the Pylon

that we have to build a lot of.

So we always joke, we have to construct additional Pylons.

Most people don't know how rockets

are built traditionally at all anyway.

And I think a lot of people assume it's rockets,

so shouldn't it be already very advanced

and robots everywhere and you know,

Elon's got Space X and Tesla,

so doesn't Space X just look like Tesla

with all these robots and automation?

But that's really not true.

I mean, aerospace hasn't adopted automation at all.

- One of the issues, right, is that you're not making

a lot of rockets?

- Right?

- So there's no incentive to like figure out

how to tool up a factory to like pump out rockets

like a hundred a day or something.

- Exactly.

- Like you would for cars.

- Exactly, you're not making a lot.

Even with commercial aircraft,

you're not making nearly as many

and there's orders of magnitude more parts and complexity.

A commercial aircraft has several million individual parts.

So to have robots assemble several million parts

when an automobile has tens of thousands

is completely different.

It's a much harder problem.

So that's where 3D printing is automation for aerospace

because you're not assembling all those parts with robots

like you would with a car,

you're assembling them in the 3D file

and then the printer just prints them assembled.

- The plan for Relativity Space,

is it low-earth orbit or is it going further than that?

- So for Terran One, it's mostly low earth orbit.

The first rocket.

Terran R can actually send payload to the moon to Mars.

I mean, it's pretty, pretty huge.

I founded the company because I really thought

that there needed to be, you know,

dozens of hundreds of companies making Mars happen.

We're focused on taking this 3D printing tech

and what we call the factory of the future,

and one day shrinking it down to something

we'll actually launch to Mars and build an industrial base.

So that's the long-term vision of the company,

is build the industrial base on Mars.

In many ways, this factory is just a prototype.

It's still far smaller than a traditional factory.

It's far lighter.

And I think it's inevitable

someone has to build this company.

- I don't know that in 10, 20 years

that you will be 3D printing rockets all the time.

Because if you are flying lots of rockets,

it becomes cheaper to have a dedicated machine for it.

I do think that as a company, they are well-placed

because even if Terran fails to capitalize on the market,

even if nobody wants to use it as a launch vehicle,

they are clearly now the world experts

on 3D printing rocket hardware,

'cause they've done everything, right?

They've tried to apply 3D printing to places

where a lot of people dismissed it.

So I think they're sort of secure as a company.

Whether we will see rockets being 3D printed all the time?

That's a good question.

- There've been a lot of talk recently

about billionaires going to space.

- Yeah.

- Will a 3D printed rocket make it possible

and a lot cheaper for me to go to space?

- Yes, I mean, certainly what we're doing

is lowering the cost.

So our rockets are costing about five times

to, you know, I believe we can get to 10

or even a hundred times cheaper

with a fully reusable rocket than what we have today.

So it can definitely climb down the cost curve.

But I also think, you know, going to Mars

and the first people that are going,

it really is about what is the point of being a human being?

Like for me, why go to Mars?

If we were having this conversation

and a million people were living on another planet,

I think it would expand the possibilities

of human experience and what it means to be a person.

Like we'd have YouTube channels on Mars

and people sharing what life on Mars is like versus earth.

And there'd be long distance Amelie, like love stories.

Like I think there's just a lot of richness

in what human culture and society can be about.

Yes, I think there's criticism about,

you know, billionaires going to space

and I don't agree with.

You know, all of the projects

need to actually add up to some vision that is meaningful.

I think that's really important.

But I do think going to Mars is really just about,

you know, we've lived for generations on earth,

so what's it all about like,

why do we want to keep improving and getting better

and furthering society on earth?

So for me, it's pretty existential.

What it means to be a human being.

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