Another No-Go For Relativity’s 3D Printed Rocket
Relativity Space tried and tried and tried again today to launch the 3D printed Terran-1 rocket, but in the end it was another abort. Three attempts within the three-hour launch window got as close as 0.5 seconds from liftoff, but tonight the rocket is still on the launch pad.
Today’s webcast began with an explanation of what scrubbed the first attempt to launch the “Good Luck, Have Fun” or GLHF mission on March 8. A ground equipment valve malfunctioned, preventing engineers from getting the propellant’s liquid oxygen (LOX) to the correct cryogenic temperature.
Terran-1 is the first 3D printed rocket — 85 percent of the structure and engines are 3D printed — as well as one of the first to use methane-LOX, or methalox, engines. It could become the first methalox rocket to reach orbit if it gets there before the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, which uses BE-4 methalox engines built by Blue Origin, which will use them for its own New Glenn rocket. Vulcan rolled out to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station yesterday, not far from Relativity’s pad.
Relativity fixed the valve and was ready to try again today during a three-hour launch window between 1:00-4:00 pm ET.
A hold was called during the first countdown when a boat entered the restricted zone.
They quickly recycled once the boat left the area, but the second countdown ended dramatically when the nine first-stage engines fired, but the rocket remained sitting on the pad. Automated systems that take control of the countdown at T-70 seconds had detected a problem at 0.5 seconds and aborted the launch.
Relativity still had more than an hour in its launch window and decided to try again. They recycled for launch at 4:00 pm ET, the very end of the window, but the countdown again was automatically aborted, this time at T-45 seconds.
The company later tweeted a brief review of what happened.
During abort #1: It was a corner case in the stage separation automation a few seconds before T-0 that properly aborted at T .5 seconds.
— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) March 11, 2023
Then, the team pushed an update to the vehicle automation, successfully recycled the vehicle, and secured a new T-0 time, which was an instantaneous window, given it was during the last minute of our launch window today at 16:00 ET.
— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) March 11, 2023
During abort #2: At T-45 seconds, we had an automated abort on stage 2 fuel pressure, which was only one PSI low.
— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) March 11, 2023
The team went HARD today and we intend to do so during our next attempt. More to come on the new launch date and window soon. #GLHF pic.twitter.com/VVyrfF09sL
— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) March 11, 2023
Stay tuned for an announcement for when they will try again.
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