Relativity Space is moving on from the Terran 1 rocket to something much bigger

Enlarge / Artist's rendering of a Terran R rocket launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Relativity Space made a flurry of announcements on Wednesday about its past and future. The company is going bigger, and it has already started to do so.

In an interview with Ars, the company's chief executive, Tim Ellis, discussed the cause of its Terran 1 launch failure and lessons learned for the future and looked ahead to big changes planned for the company's next launch vehicle.

Foremost among these changes is the plan to move directly into development of the Terran R rocket. In response to customer demand, Ellis said, this rocket is getting even bigger than before. A fully expendable version will now be able to lift a staggering 33.5 metric tons. This sets up Relativity to compete directly with the largest players in the global launch industry.

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