3D Printing Rockets
One of the most incredible technologies we are seeing is 3D printing. Of late, I covered 3D printing of homes as well as the advancements in retail.
We see space exploration just starting to kick into gear. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX get a great deal of attention for the progress they are making.
They are not the only game in town thought.
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Relativity Space just received $500 million in another round of funding. This provides the company with a "war chest" going forward.
The latest round of funding makes Relativity Space the 2nd most valuable private space company behind SpaceX.
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CEO Tim Ellis:
“This really accelerates Relativity’s momentum and scaling as we focus beyond first launch on production and various infrastructure expansion projects,” Ellis said. “Other exciting new initiatives are underway – which we can discuss further next year – with this capital ... but we’re not in the business of taking smaller swings in terms of where we think the technology can go.”
One of the advantages to 3D printing is that it lowers costs. This is of great interest when it comes to space exploration. Costs have been going down over the last decade, mostly due to advancements by SpaceX. However, it is still a very costly business.
Relativity Space is looking to push things down even further, hoping to kickstart things even more. Their first mission is set to take place in 2021. The company has its eyes set on Mars at some point.
Rockets obviously make up a large portion of the costs associated with launches. This is equally true for cargo and astronauts. With space exploration moving into space tourism and colonization, we will see growth in the number of launches over the next decade.
Since we are in the experimentation phase, 3D printing offers great flexibility in what can be created. No longer is rocketry limited based upon the same physical constructs of the past.
Here is a video that shows the process for Relativity Space:
Relativity has a unique perspective on the space race. Unlike Musk who is looking to send people into space, this company prefers to concentrate upon the colonization of Mars.
It is looking to send a small printer into space to be used to help "construct" on that planet.
We are seeing an across-the-board effort. Some entities are looking to send people, others cargo, and still others want to provide the equipment or materials for construction.
3D printing has been a constant in the aeronautical and automotive industry for decades. It is no surprise that space is going to be included in the progress. This technology is going to change how we manufacture, construct, and build.
The idea of 3D printing rockets should greatly accelerate the progress in this area. We can see accelerated improvements since, not only does rocket printing improve, but the printers themselves are going through technological advancements.
When combined we can see some major steps forward in a short period of time. Now, with the funding, Relativity Space can finance the next phase of its development.
It is going to be an interesting decade.
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