Relativity Space, a US manufacturer of 3D printed rockets, has opened a new 1 million ft2 facility in Long Beach, California.
The facility, which was previously a Boeing C-17 manufacturing plant, will house the company’s metallurgical laboratory, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) printers and the company’s proprietary Stargate 3D printers which Relativity says are the largest metal 3D printers of their type globally.
The headquarters will also reportedly have capacity for 2,000 or more employees. Relativity currently employs around 450 people and intends to employ more than 200 additional employees by the end of 2021.
Plans are for the company to improve its supply chain using 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous robotics. According to the company, it can print its rockets with 100x fewer parts in less than 60 days. The new facility will be used to develop Terran R, a reusable, entirely 3D-printed launch vehicle that is larger than its current Terran 1 rocket.
‘Relativity is at the forefront of an inevitable shift to software-driven manufacturing, and the opportunity to reimagine this facility for the future of aerospace is incredibly exciting,’ said Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Relativity. ‘Securing this space for Relativity Headquarters, which is now one of the largest facilities in private space, right here in Long Beach, is key for scaling out our Terran R program.’
This story uses material from Relativity Space, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
