What’s next: After the March flight, Relativity announced that it was scrapping Terran 1 development to focus solely on its larger Terran R vehicle.
Ellis emphasized that this shift is not merely about scaling size, but also better aligning with market demands (1.8B Terran R pipeline) and the broader vision of the company.
Overall R&D costs should be in the ballpark of 1B, Ellis estimated, adding that it is designed to be reusable from the start and carry 23,500 kg to LEO.
Brand awareness: In an industry dealing with expensive, long-term projects (i.e., space), it’s crucial to inspire and motivate people by focusing on high-effort, creative presentations, Ellis said. The aim is to make Relativity not just a rocket company but a brand that resonates with a broader audience. And music—particularly electronic music—plays a role in the brand’s energy, reflecting Ellis’s personal tastes.
Listen to Pathfinder #0071 for more on Relativity’s future on Mars, whether there’s a rocket larger than Terran R in Relativity’s future, the long-term strategy for 3D printing, and much more.
This episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/
• Chapters •
00:00 – Intro & SpiderOak Ad
01:09 – The night of the Terran 1 launch
05:11 – What went wrong?
10:11 – Why not launch Terran 1 again?
15:18 – Are investors okay pushing out an orbital proof point?
20:38 – Terran R tech specs
29:05 – SpiderOak Ad break
29:52 – Milestones for Terran R
34:31 – Terran R’s manufacturing cadence at scale
37:46 – Terran R R&D costs (vs Falcon 9)
46:13 – 3D printing the Terran R
51:34 – The future of 3D printing
58:32 – Relativity’s marketing strategy
01:09:53 – Heavier than Terran R
01:14:48 – Relativity & Mars
01:15:22 – Tim’s favorite musical artists
• Show notes •
Relativity’s website — https://www.relativityspace.com/
Relativity’s socials — https://twitter.com/relativityspace
Tim’s socials — https://twitter.com/thetimellis
Mo’s socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes
• About us •
Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000 commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.
Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)
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