Relativity, the company that plans to launch 3D-printed rockets into space, plans to take over an existing 220,000 square foot space at one of NASA's space centers. It's part of the company's grander push to send their first rocket aloft in late 2020.
The agreement with NASA allows Relativity to take over the facility, which is Building 9101 at NASA's Stennis Space Center northeast of New Orleans. (The building has been unused since the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant ceased production there in 1990, according to NASA). Relativity has a nine-year lease on the space, which includes an 80-foot high bay, several bridge cranes and other infrastructure. The company has the option to extend its lease for another 10 years.
"This will accelerate our development," said Tobi Duschl, Relativity's vice-president of operations. For Relativity, the large space allows for 12 to 24 Terran rockets to be manufactured each year, with more flexibility and a faster time to launch, officials said.
Capital expenditures on the facility are supported in part with a cost reimbursement and tax incentive package from the State of Mississippi. Relativity says the facility will attract highly skilled labor to the state, which is something Mississippi is glad to support. While the full terms of the contract were not released publicly, Relativity pledged to create 200 jobs and invest $59 million in the state of Mississippi.
Employment openings are available already at the facility in matters such as test site operations, and soon there will be more positions in manufacturing and production, Duschl said.
Another benefit to the Stennis manufacturing is it is close by to where Relativity will perform its propulsion testing -- just two miles away from a site announced last year, pointed our Jordan Noone, Relativity's chief technology officer.
Having the two sites so close by will assist in "quick turnaround manufacturing", he said, because the vehicle can be tested and integrated without shipping it back and forth across the country.
The Mark Cuban-backed venture has announced several customer wins in the past few weeks -- Canadian telecommunications satellite operator Telesat, Thai firm mu Space, and rideshare operator Spaceflight. The company has raised roughly $45 million in venture funding and plans to launch its first rocket from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 16. Following the test launch in 2020, Relativity plans three launches in 2021 and then a cadence of 12 to 24 launches a year.
As a startup, Relativity does not release many financial metrics, but large growth is apparent; the company now employs 92 people, up from 14 people at the beginning of 2018.
