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Relativity Secures a New Launch Site in California for 3D-Printed Rockets

A new launch site facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California will be Relativity Space‘s latest adoption to its growing portfolio of infrastructure partnerships. With this new addition, the 3D-printed rocket manufacturer’s launch capabilities will now span both coasts of the United States, as the company already has a lease for a launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ahead of next year’s inaugural Terran 1 rocket launch, these expanded capabilities, along with the company’s autonomous production via metal 3D printing, help drive Relativity’s momentum and customer base at a time when the space industry is booming and the number of rocket launches increases exponentially.

To build up its launching capabilities, Relativity signed a Right of Entry Agreement with the 30th Space Wing of the United States Air Force to begin the assessment of the viability of launch operations at the prospective site. The location chosen for Relativity’s new launch complex is the current site of Building 330 (B-330) and the adjacent land, a storage facility located just south of SLC-6, the current west coast launch site for United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket. Moreover, Relativity’s senior leadership team, drawn from both longtime aerospace companies and industry pioneers, has executed dozens of successful launches at Vandenberg.

“We’re honored to begin this partnership with the 30th Space Wing and join the exclusive group of private space companies able to conduct launches at Vandenberg,” said Tim Ellis, CEO of Relativity. “The West Coast launch facilities allow Relativity to provide affordable access to polar and sun sync orbits that are critical for both government and commercial customers. The geographic southerly position of B-330 at Vandenberg offers schedule certainty and increased launch frequency that will be advantageous to our Terran 1 customers.”

Home to the 30th Space Wing, which manages the Department of Defense’s space and missile testing as well as satellite launches into polar and Sun Synchronous orbits (SSO) from the West Coast, the Vandenberg launch site would support Terran 1 as well as future Relativity Space capabilities, offering Relativity’s customers a complete range of orbital inclinations adding to LEO, MEO, GEO, and low inclination orbits possible at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 16.

“The 30th Space Wing takes great pride in supporting the next generation of leaders in space. We are impressed by Relativity’s innovative approach to reinventing aerospace manufacturing via 3D metal printing and robotics paired with an executive team of seasoned aerospace leaders. We look forward to working with Relativity as its West Coast launch partner for many years to come,” stated Colonel Anthony J. Mastalir, 30th Space Wing commander at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Relativity’s Los Angeles facility (Credit: Relativity Space)

Disrupting 60 years of aerospace, the California-based startup is pushing the limits of additive manufacturing as it attempts to 3D print entire orbital-class rockets. Originally based in Los Angeles, the autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations recently moved its work to a 120,000 square foot site in Long Beach, California, that will house both the company’s business operations and an unprecedented manufacturing facility to create the first aerospace platform that will integrate intelligent robotics, software, and 3D autonomous manufacturing technology to build the world’s first entirely 3D printed rocket, Terran 1.

Up until now we only heard of four customers onboard the Terran 1 manifest, which are Telesat, mu Space, Spaceflight, and Momentus Space. However, Relativity also revealed on Wednesday, via a Twitter post, its fifth launch contract with satellite operator Iridium Communications. According to the company, as many as six Iridium NEXT communication satellites would launch no earlier than 2023 from the new launch site to be constructed at Vandenberg.

Iridium’s CEO, Matt Desch, explained that “Relativity’s Terran 1 fits our launch needs to LEO well from both a price, responsiveness and capability perspective.”

Focused on expanding the possibilities for the human experience by building a future in space faster, and starting with rockets, Relativity has been working to pioneer technology that allows them to reduce the part count 100 times by printing across Terran 1’s structure and engines, also significantly reducing touchpoints and lead times, greatly simplifying the supply chain and increasing overall system reliability.

Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral, Florida (Credit: Relativity Space)

Throughout the last five years, the company has conducted over 300 test firings of its Aeon rocket engines as part of an engine test program conducted at test complex E4 and E2 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen, nine Aeon 1 engines will power Relativity’s first Terran 1 vehicles to LEO. According to NASA Spaceflight, the propellant choice for Aeon 1 is consistent with Relativity’s stated goal of enabling an interplanetary future for humanity, especially since methane and oxygen are expected to be the easiest rocket propellants to produce on Mars. As well as highly automated 3D printing manufacturing methods that can become extremely relevant to future interplanetary space travel.

Relativity is quickly advancing towards launching the first entirely-3D printed rocket to space as it continues to engage in public-private partnerships. In fact, this last agreement represents yet another milestone that the company secured with federal, state, and local governments and agencies across the United States Government. As the first autonomous rocket factory and next-generation space company, Relativity aims to produce an innovatively designed and manufactured rocket, just in time for the upcoming new space race, where startups have the opportunity to be part of an entirely different, unknown, and competitive big new frontier for the private space industry.

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Long Beach: The New Site for Relativity Space’s 3D Printed Rockets

Commercial space companies are looking to get their technology to orbit. This decade could mark a big shift in the race for space domination, with a few big names taking over Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond. Moreover, as NASA begins to transition the domain of LEO to the commercial space industry, these enterprises are preparing to make up the backbone of their engines, rockets, and space crew vehicles to travel beyond Earth. On that path, is Relativity Space, a Los Angeles based startup that is quickly expanding its commercial orbital launch services. Just today, CEO and co-founder, Tim Ellis, announced that it has secured new headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Relativity is using Stargate 3D printers to make big and small parts, like this sub-scale vessel designed for pressure testing (Image: Relativity Space)

The 120,000 square feet site will house both the company’s business operations and an unprecedented manufacturing facility, as they will be producing the their 3D printed rocket, the Terran 1, a launch vehicle that the company plans to build in only 60 days from raw materials and by 3D printing the structure as well as the engine. The company is already printing large-scale, flight-ready parts of their Terran 1 rocket and this move to the new headquarters will give them five times the space to add more Stargate 2.0 3D printers, print higher structures and parts, even assemble and load rocket sections onto trucks to ship to Cape Canaveral for launch.

“Relativity is disrupting nearly sixty years of prior aerospace technology by building a new manufacturing platform using robotics, 3D printing, and Artificial Inteligence (AI). With no fixed tooling, Relativity has enabled a massive part count and risk reduction, increased iteration speed and created an entirely new value chain,” said Ellis. “I’m confident our autonomous factory will become the future technology stack for the entire aerospace industry.”

Relativity Space integrates machine learning, software, robotics with metal additive manufacturing technology to try to build an almost entirely 3D printed rocket. It claims that it is the first company to utilize additive manufacturing and robotics to build an entire launch vehicle. Relativity’s platform vertically integrates intelligent robotics and 3D autonomous manufacturing technology to build Terran 1, which has 100 times lower part count than traditional rockets and a radically much simpler supply chain. The aerospace startup hopes to launch the world’s first entirely 3D printed rocket into orbit and enter commercial service in 2021.

The new headquarters in Long Beach (Image: Relativity Space)

The autonomous factory will have high ceilings, at 36 feet, that will enable the company to print taller structures, and the 120,000 sq. ft. space will have a 300 person capacity, that’s a pretty big move, considering they currently employ 150 people across their Los Angeles office space and production facilities, their factory building at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississipi, and at the Launch Complex 16 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The new headquarters facility will not only provide a new blank slate to support innovation and creation, but it is also located in the heart of Southern California’s next-generation aerospace community. With more than 35 aerospace companies in the area, the place is keeping up with a long-standing tradition as an aerospace hub, with space launch-service providers, satellite makers, and even drone developers coexisting.

“Long Beach has an extensive history as a leader in aerospace and aviation, and now we are at the forefront of the space economy,” indicated California Senator Lena Gonzalez. “We are excited to welcome Relativity to our ever-growing community of innovative tech companies.”

The new site will serve as headquarters and manufacturing facility for Relativity Space (Image: Relativity Space)

While 70th District Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell said: “I am proud to welcome Relativity Space to our community and wish them success as they go higher, further and faster to the stars. The aerospace industry is undergoing an economic resurgence in Long Beach, providing the prospects of good-paying jobs and further opening up the bounds of space for research.”

The Stage 2 Iron Bird, which will be the first additively manufactured tank to feed propellants to a rocket engine (Image: Relativity Space)

Relativity has already begun migrating staff to its new headquarters and is transitioning its patented additive manufacturing infrastructure as it builds out the first-ever mostly autonomous rocket factory. The factory will house all of the production for Terran 1, including the Aeon engine assembly, as well as integrated software, avionics, and materials development labs. The new facility enables the production of almost the entire Terran 1 rocket, including an enlarged fairing, now accommodating double the payload volume. The company claims that the combination of agile manufacturing and payload capacity makes Relativity the most competitive launch provider in its class, meeting the growing demands of an expanding satellite market.

The first stage of Terran 1 is powered by nine Aeon-1 engines, fueled by liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane; while the second stage is powered by a single restartable Aeon-1 Vacuum engine. Terran 1 will be able to carry a payload of 1250 kg to LEO, and 900 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. The first test launch is planned for late 2020 at the Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral.

The new headquarters and factory mark another milestone in Relativity’s steady execution towards its first launch. Relativity recently closed a $140 million funding round led by Bond and Tribe Capital and has already secured a launch site Right of Entry at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 16, an exclusive-use Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) agreement for several NASA test sites, including the E4 Test Facility at the NASA Stennis Space Center, and a 20-year exclusive use lease for a 220,000 square feet factory also at the NASA Stennis Space Center.

This type of initiative broadens the range of opportunities and continues to build the fundamental basis of the future of aerospace exploration. Rockets, like Terran 1, could move forth more science, better technology, and advance research significantly. In 2019, we saw many payloads delivered to the International Space Station (ISS), all of them filled with scientific experiments, medical research and much more, and all of them aimed at improving human life on Earth and in space. With more payload, launch, and delivery options satellites, exploration and space stations could become much less expensive. Cost reduction through competition could make space a much more accessible place. Relativity Space is breaking ground with the technology, allowing its engineers to create what they can imagine, and with this new rocket facility, the startup could become a leading force in the industry.

3D printed rocket by Relativity Space (Image: Relativity Space)

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Researchers Run Simulation Tests on Their 3D Printed CubeSat Before LEO Mission

A pair of researchers from Shantou University in China explored designing and manufacturing a CubeSat with 3D printing, which we have seen in the past. CubeSats, which are basically miniaturized satellites, offer plenty of advantages in space exploration, such as low cost, a short research cycle, and more lightweight construction, but conventional methods of manufacturing often negate these. Using 3D printing to make CubeSats can help achieve accurate details as well.

[Image: ESA]

The researchers, Zhiyong Chen and Nickolay Zosimovych, recently published a paper on their work titled “Mission Capability Assessment of 3D Printing Cubesats.”

“With the successful development of integrated technologies, many spacecraft subsystems have been continuously miniaturized, and CubeSats have gradually become the main executors of space science exploration missions,” they wrote.

The main task driving research paper is an LEO, or Low Earth Orbit, CubeSat mission, which would need to accelerate to a maximum of 5 g during launch.

“…the internal operating temperature range of the CubeSat is from 0 to 40 °C, external temperature from -80 to 100 °C,” the researchers explained.

During the design process, the duo took into account environmental factors, the received impact load during the launch process, and the surrounding environment once the CubeSat reached orbit. Once they determined the specific design parameters, ANSYS software was used to simulate, analyze, and verify the design’s feasibility.

PLA was used to make the mini satellite, which is obviously shaped like a cube. Each cube cell, called a unit, weighs approximately 1 kg, and has sides measuring 10 cm in length.

“The framework structure for a single CubeSat provides enough internal workspace for the hardware required to run the CubeSat. Although there are various CubeSat structure designs, several consistent design guidelines can be found by comparing these CubeSats,” the researchers wrote about the structure of their CubeSat.

These guidelines include:

a cube with a side length of 100 mm
8.5 x 113.5 mm square columns placed at four parallel corners
usually made of aluminum for low cost, lightweight, easy machining

The CubeSat needs to be big enough to contain its power subsystem (secondary batteries and solar panels), in addition to the vitally important thermal subsystem, communication system for providing signal connections to ground stations back on Earth, ADCS, and CDH subsystems. It also consists of onboard antennae, radios, data circuit boards, a three-axis stability system, and autonomous navigation software.

“The adoption of this technology changes the concept of primary and secondary structure in the traditional design process, because the whole structure can be produced at the same time, which not only reduces the number of parts, reduces the need for screws and adhesion, but also improves the stability of the overall structure,” the pair wrote about using 3D printing to construct their CubeSat.

The mission overview for this 3D printed CubeSat explains that the device needs to complete performance tests on its camera payload for reliability evaluation, and test the effectiveness of any structures 3D printed “in an orbital environment.”

The Von mises stress diagram of the CubeSat structure.

In order to ensure that it’s ready to operate in LEO, the CubeSat’s structures was analyzed using ANSYS’ finite element analysis (FEA) software, and the researchers also performed a random vibration analysis, so that they can be certain it will hold up under the launch’s impact load.

“The CubeSat structure is validated by the numerical experiment. During launch process, CubeSat will be fixed inside the P-Pod, and the corresponding structural constraints should be added to the numerical model. In addition, the maximum acceleration impact during the launch process should also be considered. Static Structural module of ANSYS is used for calculation and analysis, the results show that the maximum stress of CubeSat Structure is 8.06 MPa, lower than the PLA yield strength of 40 Mpa,” the researchers explained.

Running in LEO, the 3D printed CubeSat will go through a 100°C temperature change, and the structure needs to be able to resist this, so the researchers also conducted a thermal shock test, which showed an acceptable thermal strain.

The thermal strain diagram of the CubeSat structure.

The team also conducted random vibration simulation experiments, so they could conform the structure of the 3D printed CubeSat to emission conditions. They simulated typical launch vibration characteristics, using NASA GEV qualification and acceptance as reference.

“The specific contents of the experiment include “Harmonic Response” and “Random Vibration”. Two identical harmonic response were performed before and after the random vibration test to assess the degree of structural degradation that may result from the launch load,” the researchers explained.

“This experiment helps us to evaluate the natural frequency of the structure, and the peak value indicates that the tested point (bottom panel) has reached the resonant frequency.”

Pre/Post Random Vibration test comparison between the curves of Harmonic Response.

As seen in the above figure, both the trend and peak points of the two curves are close to each other, which shows that there was no structural degradation after the vibration test, and that the structure itself conforms to launch stiffness specifications.

“As the primary performer of today’s space exploration missions, the CubeSat design considers orbit, payload, thermal balance, subsystem layout, and mission requirements. In this research, a CubeSat design for performing LEO tasks was proposed, including power budget, mass distribution, and ground testing, and the CubeSat structure for manufacturing was combined with 3D printing technology,” the researchers concluded.

“The results show that the CubeSat can withstand the launch loads without structural damage and can meet the launch stiffness specification.”

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Launcher’s Adventure Building Commercial Rockets Using 3D Printed Engines

Spending on space exploration is booming. We have seen many ambitious private endeavors come onto the scene in the last few years, from building and launching satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for telecommunications, to prepping crews and cargo to go to the International Space Station (ISS) and even developing programs allowing fee-paying tourists to go beyond Earth’s atmosphere, it is all happening now. The truth is that reduced costs and growing competition are letting private firms become involved in this new space race, which unlike the previous one, that started 62 years ago with Sputnik, is driven by more than just a need to dominate space. For companies offering satellite launch capabilities to private clients and national governments, the time has never been better, over 70 countries now have space programs and only a dozen of them have any sort of launch capability, the same goes for companies. This is where rocket startups like Launcher come to play.

Launcher testing site in Long Island

The Brooklyn-based firm has been developing what it says is the world’s largest 3D printed liquid rocket engine combustion chamber in a single piece. The E-2 engine, which was made in Germany by AMCM using its specialized M4K printer, has been tested many times at the company’s test facility on Long Island’s Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (where the US jetfighter F-14 Tomcat used to be assembled), in New York. There, the Launcher team works out of a deserted airplane runway where they are ingeniously using shipping containers to test their engines. But this is just the beginning of Launcher’s decade long plan to build a 65-foot-tall rocket that will send small satellites to orbit.

Launcher’s rocket design for 2023

Based out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, the company was formed in March 2017 by Max Haot, an internet entrepreneur who created the video streaming company Livestream. After selling it to Vimeo in 2017, he chose to focus on getting Launcher rockets to orbit.

“I always had a personal desire to stretch my career to the aerospace industry and contribute to space exploration,” Haot told 3DPrint.com. “I was just coming out of my last entrepreneurial adventure with Livestream and that’s when I thought about it: why not move to space? After some research, it was clear that there were a lot of opportunities in the launch industry and that’s how I got the startup going. Everyone in the team has a general interest in space exploration and by providing the rockets, propulsion and 3D printed engines we are offering a platform for satellites to make life on Earth better. I think it’s a great start.”

The goal is very ambitious and very rare. Beyond space agencies, only a few companies have already successfully sent rockets to space with payloads, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Rocket Lab, but they are not the only ones trying to tap the smaller private satellite launch market, small rockets are a crucial part of the growing space industry.

The Launcher team at the company’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York

“Small satellite makers were basically catching a ride on the bigger rockets, accounting for one percent or less of the payload (and revenue), so they couldn’t choose when the rocket launched or even where it was going because the main customer was taking up a five million dollar satellite and calling all the shots. But now, these smaller rockets, that cost less than 10 million dollars, can allow companies to send their satellites to space quicker. They can either buy the full rocket which would accommodate between 10 to 40 small satellites, or they can rideshare with other companies, but still have a 10 to 20 percent of the revenue (meaning they get to have a say in the launch),” he went on.

Max Haot, founder of Launcher

Since Sputnik, around 8,378 satellites have been sent to space according to the Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space maintained by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). These days there are 4,857 satellites currently orbiting the planet, but the majority are not even active, with only 1,957 actually operational (and they also will have a limited lifetime). Now there are over 20,000 proposals for new satellites in the next five years, that means we are looking at a market that will change dramatically reflecting a growing trend for startups and customers to become more involved in space technology.

In order to start testing flights by 2023, Haot began developing the E-2 engine, which will eventually be part of a four-engine 65-feet high rocket that can deliver small CubeSats (satellites that can weigh as little as 10 pounds) to orbit.

Haot claims Launcher’s E-2 engine will be the highest performance engine in the small satellite launcher industry, with the largest thrust, lowest propellant consumption and lowest cost per-pound of thrust. Consuming the least amount of propellant for the maximum amount of thrust, he expects to be able to take twice more payload than the competition for the same rocket size. To do this, the company has focused exclusively on engine development and they don’t want to start building the rocket until E-2 tests prove to work perfectly.

One of the ways Haot expects E-2 to reach its high-performance target is by using 3D printing in a copper alloy which reduces cost, complexity, and manufacturing lead time for most parts, including the combustion chamber, injector, and turbopump.

Launcher E-2 made on AMCM M4K, in Starnberg, Germany

“We decided we wanted a 10-ton force (22,000 pounds) of thrust engine instead of a smaller one, but we didn’t want to end up welding together different sections of the combustion chamber (the main part of the engine). So the problem in the 3D printing industry was that we couldn’t find a big enough 3D printer for the job, so as part of our roadmap we decided to wait until we found a 3D printer big enough to do it in one print. We worked with EOS, AMCM, and copper, which is the best alloy for a combustion chamber, leveraging a custom printer and finally successfully producing a large single-part 3D printed copper combustion chamber.”

The E-2 liquid rocket engine chamber was created on the M4K 3D printer, a customized EOS M400 series machine that can fabricate parts up to 45x45x100cm. The Launcher team explained that 3D printing both the rocket chamber and nozzle together as one part allows for the highest performance in cooling, along with reducing part count and complexity in production. Functioning as part of the EOS group, AMCM produces customized AM machines, and Launcher is the first customer of the AMCM M4K.

In 2018 the company tested their 1/40th size development engine E-1 (Propellants: LOX/RP-1, Regen cooling, printed on the EOS M290 in Inconel 718, in three parts, 500-pound thrust, augmented spark ignition). The E-1 helps them validate the design of the 3D printed combustion chamber and internal cooling channels before applying in it to the 40 times larger E-2. 3D printed rocket engines and components. Last February AMCM unveiled a prototype from a Launcher design in Aluminum, which they believe is the largest single part combustion chamber ever 3D printed, and this month AMCM is developing the final part for testing in copper. That means next September, the AMCM machine and engineers will deliver a full-size engine in copper ready to begin the test-firing by the end of the year.

“We have done a lot of subscale testing (over 100 times) to prove that we are able to reach the combustion performance that we want for our full scale engine,” Haot said.

Before scaling to the full-size E-2 engine, Launcher is proving its design and 3D printed materials on the subscale version Engine-1 or E-1. The company claims that thanks to the design, the use of 3D printed copper alloy, and the unique liquid oxygen cooling system, their E-1 subscale engine is so efficient (over 98%) that it produces a blue exhaust plume—unprecedented for kerosene engines. It was proven for over 15 minutes of test time at the highest performance combustion mixture ratio between liquid oxygen and kerosene.

“We expect the first test flights in 2023, but will only become fully commercial and profitable after a few tests, in 2026. Right now there is not enough supply of small launching capacity, so there is a backlog. With tens of thousands of proposals for new small and nano-sized satellites to be launched in the next 5 years, the demand is certainly not the issue. The questions we need to answer are: whether we can be competitive, come to market and reach orbit. We expect to have a higher performance rocket that could eventually carry more payload than our competitors and with the same rocket size. In 2026, if we do four flights per year we could break even, however we are targeting 12 flights,” he went on.

For now, the company is looking to capitalize on the demand for small satellites by building a rocket that will focus on sending the smaller payloads to orbit. However, they claim to be building what they hope “will be a long-lasting aerospace company”. Suggesting that “the small satellite launcher is our first product”, and that they would like to “contribute to space exploration in general”.

Preparing for testing

Launcher’s rocket is priced to that smaller market, with plans to sell missions for about $10 million per launch, and customers that hope to operate within LEO and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), because the higher they go, the lighter the payload they can take. One of the big customers for a small satellite launch is the US government, especially NASA, the Air Force and the Department of Defense since they have stated their desire to miniaturize all of their satellites. But Haot knows that the first step is to develop the capability and reach orbit, after that, who knows, perhaps they can send payloads to the moon or even further. But we’ll have to wait a bit, at least until their test run in 2023.

The Launcher team testing the E-1 engine out of their ‘container’ office

A Note On Sustainability in Space

For those of you who are wondering how whether an industry in LEO will have a long-term negative effect on our life on this planet, Haot suggests otherwise, saying that today rocket companies are being responsible.

“There are inactive satellites, rocket parts and even the debris of satellite collision in space. Some of these little objects reenter, in the LEO orbit they might start to reenter after five years but farther away in geostationary orbit the lifetime for natural deorbit might be a thousand years. That means there is a graveyard orbit, and the satellite manufacturer has the responsibility to remove it, so it doesn’t occupy some of the useful geostationary orbit space,” explained Haot.

Guidelines issued by the inter-agency space debris coordination committee (IADC) demand LEO satellites to deorbit within 25 years after the end of operations. But Haot proposes that if someone launches a satellite they will include a deorbiting capability designed to help mitigate the growing space-junk problem.

“If we look at all the nanosats that are being proposed, they are in low enough orbit that they mostly don’t have propulsion, but its part of the design that they will reenter five years at most, by the location of LEO its less of a problem due to automatic deorbiting, but for further orbit it would be great to have more regulation, so that when satellites are not being used they have to deorbit. Launcher wants to be participants in this industry and ensure the second stage deorbit, which means you can carry a little bit less payload so you have propellant to deorbit, but we know it is the right thing to do,” he concluded.

Launcher’s design for their rocket with four 3D printed engines

[Images: Launcher, AMCM and Tobias Hase]

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