Relativity's Aeon rocket engine being tested.
It was 2015 when Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone were working on 3D-printing processes at Blue Origin and SpaceX, respectively. During that time they both realized that a fully 3D-printed rocket was inevitable - and designing one from the ground up could make rockets cheaper and easier to build. Their only problem? They were two 20-something engineers with no network and no access to capital.
So they did what a lot of entrepreneurs do when they want cash - they went looking for billionaire Mark Cuban. But they decided to skip the process of going on Shark Tank.
"I'm from Texas, so I thought, 'let’s just email Mark Cuban,'" said Ellis. "I guessed what his email could be, and sent an email with the subject: 'Space Is Sexy - 3D Print A Rocket.'"
In the email, Ellis said, they asked for a $100,000 investment in the company's $500,000 seed round. But they ended up getting more than they'd bargained for - Cuban emailed back and said he'd invest the full $500,000.
Thus, Relativity Space was born - with an aim to becoming a leader in a new generation of rocket companies by fully 3D-printing rockets.
Thanks to new advances in technology that make hardware smaller and cheaper, the satellite industry has boomed over the past few years. The industry pulled in nearly $270 billion in revenues last year, according to analytic firm Bryce Space & Technology, and it continues to grow apace.
That market is pushing a number of companies to follow in Elon Musk's lead and build rockets - preferably, in a way that makes launches easier to afford for the satellite startup market.
"Rocket launch costs are still the barrier of entry to space," said Ellis.
Aerospace and rocket firms are increasingly using 3D-printers to build parts and make it easier to customize the designs of planes and spacecraft. But Relativity is taking that trend one step further using 3D-printing for the entire thing - to the point where the company is building its own giant 3D-printers.
"It's ambitious, but the company has the advantage of starting the design work from a clean slate," said Terry Wohlers, President of 3D-printing analyst firm Wohlers Associates. "Most others are looking at how they can redesign rocket parts and assemblies, which can be more difficult."
That said, Relativity is entering into a crowded market space. Nearly a dozen rocket startups are taking aim at the small launch market, a few of whom are already launching satellites or anticipate launching within the next year or two. That means the company will face quite a bit of competition even after they've hit the ambitious milestone of launching its first rocket.
"Companies like Rocket Lab that have already conducted a launch, and companies like Virgin Orbit and Vulcan that are close to their first launches will be difficult to defeat," said Bill Ostrove, an aerospace analyst at Forecast International. "These companies will have an advantage in signing up new customers, getting investing, and in learning from their mistakes. That said, Relativity does have a few things going for it. The company has been successful in raising funds. They are also building a slightly larger launch vehicle than many of their competitors."
Another advantage the company may have, says Ostrove, is cost. "With a price of $10 million, the Terran 1 will also be cheaper on a per kilogram basis than many of its competitors."
Dick Rocket, founder of space industry analyst firm NewSpace Global is more bullish on the company's prospects. "I believe they'll kick the living shit out of the competition," he said.
One reason? The founders' young age and the mentality that goes with it. "Millennials have a stereotype of being lazy. I'm sure the woman who invented the wheel was thought of as lazy, too. But this team is analyzing the inefficiencies of current rocket manufacturing and leveraging the Millennial mentality to it."
Noone and Ellis met in college. They were both part of the University of Southern California's Rocket Propulsion Lab, an undergraduate group geared towards building the first student-built rocket to travel to space.
After graduation, both men went into the space business. Noone worked at SpaceX, where he helped build the 3D-printed rocket engine for the company's Dragon 2 capsule, which aims to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. Ellis went to Blue Origin, where he also worked with 3D-printed parts and propulsion systems.
It was that mutual experience that put the spark in both of their minds that 3D-printing might well be the future of the space industry.
"It became clear to us that a fully 3D-printed rocket was inevitable," Ellis said.
The same week Mark Cuban replied to their email, the company was accepted into Y Combinator and began its research and development in earnest. The company has since raised $44.5 million to date, according to PitchBook, and currently has 25 employees. 25 employees may sound like a lot for a startup, but that's a small group for an aerospace startup, says Rocket.
"They're keeping their team lean and mean - a lot of space companies have a tendency to over-hire," he said.
The "Stargate" 3D-printer where Relativity makes its rockets.
With that team and money, the company has built its first "Stargate" 3D-printer, which will build the second stage of its Terran rocket. The company has also built a full-size version of its Aeon rocket engine, a fully 3D-printed engine that it's test-fired over 100 times at its test facility at the NASA Stennis Space Center.
The company's currently aims to build and ground test its second stage by the end of the year. From there, the company will spending the next year or two working on the development of the rocket's larger first stage. Ellis says the company is aiming for late 2020 or early 2021 for its first commercial launch. After that, he hopes the sky is the limit.
"Nobody’s hit the Henry Ford moment for building and flying rockets," he said. "We view 3D-printing as a way to automate the process and actually make more rockets with fewer people, expanding the overall industry."
