![]() ![]() On a nearby test stand, NASA is working to perform a hot-fire test of its Space Launch System core stage. Stennis was effectively closed for a few weeks due to the virus and, later that summer and fall, would be affected by no fewer than six tropical storms and hurricanes. Then the pandemic hit and life ground to a halt. Relativity, he said, would begin full-scale engine tests that summer. At the time, David Giger-who is leading development of the company's Terran 1 rocket-talked about the ongoing tests of the company's thrust-chamber assembly. I visited the company's engine-testing facilities in February, back when the pandemic had not yet shut down that kind of travel. It is safe to say that Relativity, which aims to 3D print nearly the entirety of its rockets, is moving fast. So I think it really demonstrates how the 3D-printing approach to building a rocket is lightning fast." Moving fast "The mission-duty-cycle engine test is actually two months ahead of schedule. "Despite the coronavirus, we're on track," said Relativity's chief executive, Tim Ellis, in an interview. Surprisingly, the company met this milestone ahead of schedule-Relativity had been targeting completion of this mission duty cycle test before the end of 2020. The test at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi took place with all of the engine's key components-including turbopumps, injector, and combustion chamber-operating in a flight-like configuration. Relativity Space said Monday that the company has successfully completed a full-duration test-firing of its Aeon 1 rocket engine, running it at full power for 187 seconds. Full-duration test of Aeon 1 rocket engine. ![]()
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