Terran 1: Relativity Space's 3D-printed Rocket

[aerostadt]

I think this was the first time that an orbital launch attempt was made with liquid methane in the first stage. The next rocket to attempt orbital flight with liquid methane in the first stage will be ULA's Vulcan in May.

 

[techrat]

The next rocket to attempt orbital flight with liquid methane in the first stage will be ULA's Vulcan in May.

Unless StarShip gets off the pad successully 3rd week of April. That looks to be the current schedule.

 

[bad_idea]

Atlas V has a 100% success rate, including its first flight. Antares' first demo flight also was successful.

True. I was specifically calling out the first orbital rocket of a new company. I could have worded that better.

I think this was the first time that an orbital launch attempt was made with liquid methane in the first stage.

Landspace launched the Zhuque-2 in December. 2nd stage verniers shut down before it could reach orbit. Evidently the main engines of the second stage completed their burn, but the verniers are used for a little extra boost after SECO.

 

[davel]

Based on the timeline on the left of the screen, MECO and staging was a bit early. Perhaps the second stage engine wasn't fully prepared for a good start.

 

[techrat]

Based on the timeline on the left of the screen, MECO and staging was a bit early. Perhaps the second stage engine wasn't fully prepared for a good start.

That engine was tested extensively on the ground, but not in zero-g. It made several attempts to fire up, but it looked to me like fuel starvation, meaning the tanks either weren't pressurized, and the fuel started floating about in the tanks, or the baffles in the tanks aren't 100%..., or something else entirely. Had the engine fired properly, they likely could have made orbit, which would be a huge win for a startup. Nevertheless, they are going to have to look at the telemetry and determine what precisely failed.

 

[OverTheTop]

Max-Q was around the 80 seconds mark.

 

[BEC]

That engine was tested extensively on the ground, but not in zero-g. It made several attempts to fire up, but it looked to me like fuel starvation, meaning the tanks either weren't pressurized, and the fuel started floating about in the tanks, or the baffles in the tanks aren't 100%..., or something else entirely. Had the engine fired properly, they likely could have made orbit, which would be a huge win for a startup. Nevertheless, they are going to have to look at the telemetry and determine what precisely failed.

Yeah...that's kind of what I was thinking, too...no way to test in zero-g and/or vacuum on the ground. It did look like it tried to start more than once, and then the nozzle gimbaled as if to do a trajectory correction before they cut away from the feed from the stage. (And hence my lame joke about chuffing in response to George's igniter comment.)

Hopefully there is a relatively straightforward fix.