Technology

Building a rocket is a big operation, even when you&re printing them from the ground up, like Relativity Space . The launch startup is graduating from its initial office, which is a bit cramped for assembling rockets, to a huge space in Long Beach, where the company will go from prototype to first flight.

We recently visited Relativity at their old headquarters, which had the scrappy (literally — there were metal scraps everywhere) industrial feel you&d expect from a large-scale hardware startup. But except for the parking lot, there didn&t seem to be anywhere to put together… you know, a rocket.

So it was no surprise when co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis said that the company was just starting the process of moving to a gigantic new open-plan warehouse-style building in Long Beach.

Relativity CEO Tim Ellis is obviously excited about the new HQ.

&Ita big step,& Ellis told TechCrunch. &It&ll actually be the first factory we fully build out with 3D printers. This new space is actually big enough that we&ll be printing the first and second stages, and the fairing at the same time. The new ceiling height is approximately 40 feet, which will allow us to build taller — about twice the height of our current facility. We&re on track to start shipping parts to Stennis for testing later this year.&

In addition to the three &Stargate& printers that can print parts up to 15 feet high, they&ll have three more that can go up to 20 feet and two that can go up to 30. Ita bit hard to imagine a single printed rocket part 30 feet tall until you&ve seen some of the pieces Relativity has already made.

Not only do the rockets take up a lot of space, but the company itself is growing.

&From two years ago to now we&ve over 20X-ed our entire footprint as a company,& Ellis pointed out. In other words, it was starting to feel a bit overpopulated in their old spot near LAX.

This the space as it is now; the image up top is a render of how it will look once active.

Assembly of the launch vehicle, called Terran 1, its Aeon engines and R-D will all take place in the new HQ. Itnearly 120,000 square feet, and will be built as a very high-tech manufacturing operation indeed. There will be no fixed tooling, meaning the factory can be rapidly reconfigured, and will be highly automated. The company3D printers aren&t like the simple ones used for rough prototyping, but enormous, carefully monitored robot arms that perform real-time analysis of the metal they are laying down.

&Itreally the first autonomous factory, and itnot just for rockets,& Ellis said. &Once we prove out the factory with this first launch vehicle, we&re convinced this works towards our long-term plan of launching factories to Mars and building a wide range of products that you&re going to need there. Iton the path for the long-term vision but also a way for us to be a pioneer in this new value chain for aerospace.&

&Itgoing to be cool,& he added.

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