Relativity Space has never launched a rocket, and Impulse Space has never tested any of its engines in space. But on Tuesday, the two California companies announced ambitious plans to launch a space mission to Mars and land in less than three years.
This would be the first-ever commercial mission to Mars, and such a statement could easily be dismissed as absurd. But this announcement, as bold as it is, is probably worth taking seriously because of the companies and players involved.
Founded in 2015, Relativity has raised more than $1 billion and is set to launch its small Terran 1 rocket later this year. It plans to 3D print most of its vehicles and has long been developing a fully reusable Terran R rocket. The launch vehicle is expected to surpass SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in power and carry commercial missions to Mars.
Relativity plans to prepare the Terran R rocket for launch in 2024 and bosnia and herzegovina number data make its debut flight to Mars with a payload in late 2024.
Impulse Space is a newer project, less than a year old, but it has experienced engineers. It was founded by Tom Mueller, the first employee hired at SpaceX, who led the propulsion division for over a decade. His engines are used in the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon. Mueller sees launch as a “solved problem” and is developing a line of non-toxic, low-cost engines to serve the space propulsion market.
"This is a whole new era of space flight, and we want to be able to provide a reliable and inexpensive space facility. We want to do everything – orbital, lunar, interplanetary flights," Muller said in an interview.
Mission concept
The Mars mission was conceived last year when Zach Dunn, Relativity’s vice president of engineering and manufacturing, approached Mueller. They were old colleagues. Mueller had hired Dunn at SpaceX back in 2006, where the intern was soon put in charge of engine testing and then the entire rig for the first Falcon rockets. Relativity wanted to make a splash with its first Terran R mission, and Mueller jumped at the chance.
They envisioned a mission where a Terran-R vehicle would launch a Martian cruise missile, developed by Impulse Space, onto a trajectory toward Mars. The vehicle would then descend using the aeroshell technology developed by NASA for the Mars Phoenix lander and other vehicles, using the same speed and entry angle as NASA missions.