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Relativity Space’s first 3D-printed rocket goes vertical for launch debut

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4 years ago

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Relativity Space’s first 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket has rolled out to the startup’s Florida pad and been raised vertical ahead of its launch debut.

Founded in 2015, the private Los Angeles-based spaceflight company shipped its first complete rocket prototype to Florida in June 2022. Prior to that major milestone, Relativity qualified Terran 1’s orbital second stage at leased facilities located at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in southwest Mississippi, and – alongside a nosecone and interstage – arrived at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) more or less ready to fly.

The last six months have been almost exclusively dedicated to testing Terran 1’s larger and more powerful first stage (booster) as thoroughly as possible. Instead of building a dedicated booster test stand in Mississippi, Relativity chose to modify Terran 1’s lone LC-16 launch pad for the crucial task. Ultimately, the startup was able to complete a large amount of booster testing on the ground, significantly increasing the odds that Terran 1 will perform as expected when it lifts off for the first time.

Beginning with cryogenic proofing, propellant loading, ‘spin starts,’ and several shorter static fire tests, Relativity’s first Terran 1 booster test campaign culminated with two long-duration static fires in September 2022. The final 57 and 82-second static fires weren’t quite the “full mission duration” tests Relativity had hoped for, but the company concluded that the data gathered was enough to clear the booster for flight.

According to Ellis, one of the most important insights gained from those tests was into Terran 1’s uncharacteristically complex autogenous pressurization system – unprecedented for such a small rocket. Generally speaking, orbital-class rockets store helium gas in small ultra-high-pressure tanks (COPVs) and use helium to pressurize their propellant tanks as they are drained of propellant. Autogenous pressurization refers to an alternative in which a portion of a rocket’s liquid oxidizer and fuel are turned into hot gas and injected back into their respective tanks to pressurize them.

Helium is extremely expensive and an unrenewable resource. In theory, autogenous pressurization – at the cost of being significantly more complex and finicky – can also reduce the amount of dry mass reserved for tank pressurization. While Terran 1 wasn’t able to complete a full-duration static fire, the tests it did complete showed Relativity that its autogenous pressurization systems are unlikely to be a problem in flight, mostly eliminating a major source of uncertainty.

Following the final 82 or 88-second static fire, Relativity returned Terran 1’s booster to LC-16’s hangar and shifted its focus to fully assembling the two-stage rocket and finishing the launch pad. In early December, the company announced that it had fully assembled the first Terran 1. Days later, the rocket was installed on the pad’s “Transporter Erector.” The T/E responsible for transporting the rocket and raising it vertical, but it also needs to connect the rocket to ground systems (propellant, power, comms, etc.) and hold it down before liftoff.

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On or around December 6th, Terran 1 rolled out to the pad and was raised vertical soon after. According to Ellis, all that stands between Terran 1 and its first launch is a short integrated static fire test and a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It’s impossible to say how long the FAA will take, but it’s likely that Relativity will be technically ready to launch just a handful of weeks from now.

Beyond building a relativity impressive rocket, Relativity’s claim to fame is large-scale 3D printing. The startup says that the first Terran 1 rocket – booster, upper stage, fairing, engines, and all – is 85% 3D-printed by mass and the largest single 3D-printed object ever built. Terran 1 reportedly weighs around 9.3 tons (20,500 lb) empty; will measure around 33 meters (110 ft) tall and 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) wide; and will produce around 90 tons (~200,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. The rocket is designed to launch 1.25 tons (~2750 lb) to low Earth orbit for $12 million

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Model Y L’s new features flexed at unveiling event at Diner

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1 day ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Model Y L in a field
Credit: Tesla

Tesla flexed the new features of the Model Y L with a dedicated media event at the company’s Diner on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The Model Y L is the extended-wheelbase version of the all-electric crossover, which has been voted the best-selling car in the world on three occasions. The vehicle is already rolling off production lines at Gigafactory Texas, and first deliveries are slated to take place later this year.

Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

Teslarati was invited to the event, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we could not make it to Los Angeles. Instead, we will have our hands on a media unit sometime in August, so we’ll be able to spend some more extended time with the Model Y L.

However, plenty of those who made it to LA shared some cool features that set the Model Y L apart from the Model Y.

Multi-Row Climate Control

Tesla fitted the Model Y L with full climate control on all three rows on the front screen. It can be adjusted by selecting which row you’d like to modify on the right-hand side of the touch screen:

Better Rear Window Visibility

One of the strangest things about the Model Y, especially the Juniper iteration, is the rear window has extremely limited visibility when looking into the rearview mirror.

Tesla has improved upon this with the Model Y L:

PowerShare will be included

Model Y L will come with PowerShare in North America, with an 11.5kW output to your home. Tesla said it would require Powerwall 3 for operation.

Wireless Charging Pad

There has been some speculation that Tesla would upgrade the wireless charging pads in the United States, but this is not the case.

Tesla owner fixes common feature complaint with crafty DIY retrofit

Tesla confirmed that it does not come with the cooled pads as the Y L in China does. This is because North America has not adopted Qi charging yet.

Thermal Management Improvements

These improvements in the Model Y L were seen with thermal management:

  • Up to 15% faster cabin cooling
  • +23% thermal efficiency gained in hot weather, 7 miles of real-world range gained
  • 8x more solar energy reflection off of glass roof
  • 30% reduction in solar energy entering the cabin

Demand

Tesla said the Model Y L is almost sold out in the U.S. It comes with

  • 1 year of FSD Supervised
  • 1 year of Supercharging
  • 1 year of Premium Connectivity
  • Free exterior paint color, interior, and wheel option at no additional cost
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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies ridiculous Gigafactory Shanghai rumor

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1 day ago

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July 31, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platform X on Thursday night to deny a ridiculous rumor regarding the sale of the company’s Chinese vehicle production plant, Gigafactory Shanghai.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, claimed in a scathing new report that Tesla was exploring a potential sale of the entire China business in an effort to help bolster a potential merger between SpaceX and Tesla.

Musk immediately denied the rumor not once but twice, initially calling it “fake news,” and then calling it “absurdly fake news” in a separate post just a few moments later:

The original poster of the Wall Street Journal article that Musk saw deleted the initial post sharing the headline and the rumored sale of Tesla’s China business.

The report seemed absolutely and unequivocally false to begin with; Tesla’s business in China is among the most important pieces of the company’s business. Not only does the factory supply vehicles for the domestic market, but also for various other markets in Asia and Europe.

China is also one of the largest automotive markets in the world, and Tesla has performed well there despite the robust competition.

The speculation regarding a Tesla and SpaceX merger has started to gain steam this year as the space exploration company went public just a month ago. There has been speculation that Musk will bridge all of his companies under one “umbrella company,” and analysts believe this could happen before the end of the decade.

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

This is the latest iteration of Musk’s very evident war on mainstream media. Reports regarding any of Musk’s companies are quick to get the dreaded “false” or “fake news” response from the CEO when they are unfounded.

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Elon Musk

Tesla AI boss reveals how big Optimus is going to get

Tesla’s Optimus chief corrected himself on X, confirming a staggering 10 million robot production target.

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1 day ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Optimus Gen 3 [Credit: Tesla]

Tesla’s Optimus program has a new number attached to it, after Ashok Elluswamy, the executive who has run the humanoid robot program since June 2025, posted a three word correction on X Thursday, “Correction, 10 million robots.”

The line clarifies the long term annual capacity Tesla is building toward its planned second Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas, a figure Musk has cited repeatedly since last year’s shareholder meeting.

The scale is worth noting, because ten million robots a year would mean Tesla building more units annually than most countries sell in new cars. Tesla has framed this as a second line, not the first. The buildout is happening in two phases: a roughly one million unit per year line inside Tesla’s Fremont factory, installed on the floor space vacated when Model S and Model X production ended earlier this year, and a much larger dedicated facility under construction at Giga Texas that broke ground on its first steel structure in May. That Texas facility is the one Elluswamy’s correction refers to, and is expected to reach volume production sometime in 2027.

Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress

Elluswamy took over Optimus from Milan Kovac last summer and has spent the months since talking up the program’s trajectory. Elon Musk has also floated the ten million figure at Tesla’s 2025 shareholder meeting.

Ending Model S and Model X production to make room for the first Optimus line was one of the more consequential manufacturing decisions in the company’s recent history, retiring two flagship vehicles in favor of a robot that has yet to enter mass production. Musk has previously estimated per unit production costs at $20,000 to $25,000 once Tesla reaches a million units a year, though he hasn’t said what that cost looks like at ten times the volume.

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