The exterior of “The Wormhole” factory.
Relativity Space
LONG BEACH, California – It was a few days into the new year yet Relativity Space’s factory was anything but quiet, a din of activity with massive 3D printers humming and the clanging of construction ringing out.
Now about eight years on from its founding, Relativity continues to grow as it pursues a novel way of manufacturing rockets out of mostly 3D-printed structures and parts. Relativity believes that its approach will make building orbital-class rockets much faster than traditional methods, requiring thousands less parts and enabling changes to be made via software — aiming to create rockets from raw materials in as little as 60 days.
The company has raised over $1.3 billion in capital to date and continues to expand its footprint, including the addition of more than 150 acres at NASA’s rocket engine testing center in Mississippi. Relativity was named to CNBC’s Disruptor 50 last year.
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2023-02-04 12:56:48 Inside Relativity Space’s monster factory 3D-printing reusable rockets
Post from www.cnbc.com Relativity Space, a Hawthorne, California based aerospace company, is revolutionizing the rocket industry by utilizing 3D printing technology to produce reusable rockets. The company has just announced the completion of its monster manufacturing facility, located in Long Beach, California, where the company uses specialized 3D printers and additive manufacturing techniques to construct complete launch vehicles from raw materials in days rather than the years it takes for more traditional manufacturing methods.
This production facility is the culmination of five years of research and development by Relativity Space and it is a sight to behold. It is a “factory of the future” featuring 16,000 square feet of robots, 3D printers, and automated assembly cells up and running all at the same time. It is a highly efficient and automated assembly line wherein the 3D printing and manufacturing processes are supervised by software and machines, allowing the company to produce its rockets at the pushes of a button.
Relativity Space has tapped into the power of additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology to produce rockets that are faster, safer, and more cost-effective than other traditional means of production. This method of production eliminates any dependence on external supply chains, allowing Relativity Space to produce fully customized and reusable launch vehicles within 60 days with minimum human intervention.
By employing 3D printing technology, Relativity Space is able to reduce waste and streamline its production process, allowing it to manufacture reliable and cost-effective rockets with unparalleled speed and agility, delivering the vast potential of space exploration within the reach of everyone.
The completion of this monster production facility is a significant milestone for Relativity Space, and for the rocket industry as a whole. In the years to come, Relativity Space’s 3D printing technology is expected to become the industry standard for rocket production, revolutionizing the way space exploration and transportation will be done in the future.