Relativity Space, a 3D printed rocket company that managed a single launch from Cape Canaveral in 2023, announced on Monday it was changing its CEO during the renewal of its job-type exchange rocket.
Co-founder Tim Ellis said CEO and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has stepped down from playing the role. Ellis said Schmidt is bringing “substantial financial support” to the company founded in 2015.
“I know that no one is more tenacious or passionate about moving forward with this dream,” Ellis told social media. “We’ve worked together to ensure a smooth transition.”
Ellis will remain a member of the board of directors.
Long Beach, California-based Relativity launched a lonely version of the Small Terran 1 rocket on March 22, 2023 from the launch complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for a mission entitled “Good luck, have fun.”
The second stage was unable to create a track, but the rocket passed the Kalman Line (approximately 62 miles high).
The company later announced it would remove Terran 1 to focus on the larger Terran R so that it could compete with the likes of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Rockets.
An exciting era with the theory of relativity! We have completed a critical design review for the vehicle level of the Terran R and have begun flying production. Complete steam for the first launch and then after. Keep up with the latest developments with detailed program updates at https://t.co/rqb2gjs9kf pic.twitter.com/scs9tnyqgc
– March 10th, 2025, Relativity Space (@RelativitySpace)
With many of the design reviews released on Monday, Relativity had already begun production for what would become its first Terran R rocket.
“There are all the factors that make the Terran R a commercially competitive launch vehicle,” Mo Shahzad, president and chief financial officer of the company, said in a press release. “A talented team producing flight hardware and critical subsystems every day, rapid component and system-level testing, a strong financial foothold, a backlog of over $2.9 billion, and an infrastructure that supports both future initial launches and scalable cadence.”
The goal is to return to Cape Canaveral in late 2026 for Rocket’s debut run.
The payload capacity of over 50,000 pounds will be powered by low Earth orbit with 13 3D printed Aeon R engines running in a liquid oxygen methane mix that burns blue when fired. They combine to provide over 2.4 million pounds of thrust in the lift-off.
“We design reusable rockets for sweet spots in the market in moderate to severe lift launches,” said Josh Blost, Chief Revenue Officer. “Our payload capacity is large enough to provide excellent economics on a satellite basis, but small enough to fill it with each launch.”
Like the Falcon 9, the Terran R is designed for reusability, with the first stage aiming to land on an offshore barge sailing from Port Canaveral. The company aims to fly up to 20 missions with up to 20 boosters renovations made at the Space Coast during its launch.
Originally it was assumed that 95% of the 3D printed parts would be constructed, but the design of the debut Terran R was changed to come from an external vendor, combining in-house printing with parts such as fairing and NoseCone.
“We are focused on creating high-performance, scalable, cost-effective launch vehicles for our customers,” said Kevin Wu, the company’s chief technology officer. “To realize that mission, we use both internally and traditional manufacturing methods internally, while strategically outsourced specific components to trustworthy vendors.”
Wu said the strategy change is to allow rockets to run and run through the 2026 timeline.
“This hybrid approach was the right decision from the early days of the Terran R program and optimizes it to sell speeds,” he said.
As part of that, the company is expanding its engine testing capabilities at NASA’s Tennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, and testing assets at its California facility.
However, the company will still need to complete construction of new pads adjacent to what was used for the Terran 1 launch on the LC-16.
Relativity’s LC-16 use was through an agreement with the US Space Forces, and within less than a year it helped the company revamp the site for launch. Previously used on Titan and Pershing missiles and used to test Apollo and Gemini programs, it has not been released since 1988.
However, the concrete has already been poured.
“There’s no doubt about that. We have a long way to go, but we believe we have all the basic elements that we need to succeed,” Chief Operating Officer Zach Dunn said.
Original issue: March 11, 2025 10:39am EDT
