Researchers have found a way to create many complex structures using three-dimensional printing (3-D printing). A rocket too has been made in this manner.
The rocket was placed on the launchpad for launch on Saturday local time from the Cape Carnival Rocket Launch Center in Florida, USA which was adjourned earlier at 4:45 p.m. However, this rocket named Terran 1 will fly at any time.
The rocket was developed by Relativity Space, a California-based space technology innovation company.
Earlier, the Terran 1 rocket was supposed to be launched last Wednesday. But the rocket launch was called off due to last-minute temperature issues. The initiative was taken to launch it again yesterday. The Terran 1 rocket will take eight minutes to reach Earth’s orbit. Various data will be collected on this journey and it will be seen whether such a rocket can handle the shock of the launch process. If the test is successful, scientists believe that the rocket can be launched at a low cost.
Terran 1 is not carrying anything on its first flight. However, the rocket is capable of carrying objects weighing 1,200 kg. Its size is 110-feet in length, 7.5 feet in diameter and 85 percent of its mass is 3D-printed with a metal alloy engine.
The rocket manufacturer claims that this is the largest 3D printed object in the world. Their goal was to make 95 percent of the rocket on a 3-D printer. Aeon engine is used in this rocket, which runs on liquid oxygen and natural gas. Such a method will make it possible to go to Mars in the future. In a tweet, Relativity co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis expects the rocket to be a mass market in the next decade for carrying medium and heavy objects into space.