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Relativity Space

ActiveFounded 2015🇺🇸Long Beach, California
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CEO

Eric Schmidt

Data verified as of Sep 1, 2026

Summary

Relativity Space, led by CEO Eric Schmidt, is building Terran R, a reusable medium-to-heavy-lift rocket aimed at commercial, government, national-security, and telecommunications missions. After flying Terran 1 as a 3D-printing pathfinder in 2023, the company shifted fully to Terran R, pairing large-scale additive manufacturing with conventional structures for scale and cost. As of mid-August 2026 Relativity is in integrated vehicle build and testing - the stage-one structural qualification campaign is complete (420 pressure cycles, 62 load cases, and 4.3 million lbf of axial compression), the first flight-ready second stage has completed cryoproof and COPV manifold proof testing at NASA Stennis Space Center's A-2 test stand (marking the stand's formal activation), and all Flight 1 engines - the 13 Aeon R first-stage engines plus the Aeon V second-stage engine - have completed acceptance testing, with the first Aeon R engines now being installed onto the thrust structure at Long Beach. The LC-16 Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral is structurally complete and pad infrastructure (water tower, flame diverter, lightning protection towers, transporter-erector) continues to come online, against a backlog of roughly $3 billion across 12+ customers including OneWeb Gen-2 and SES. In June 2026 NASA selected Relativity to privately develop a Mars orbiter (carrying NASA's Aeolus instruments, targeting a 2028 launch), and on July 7, 2026 the U.S. Space Force added Relativity Federal to the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 national-security launch pool. On July 21, 2026 Relativity and Space Florida unveiled a statewide expansion anchored by a planned $350 million advanced-manufacturing and R&D campus in Titusville (room for more than 2,000 employees) to scale Terran R production alongside the company's Long Beach, California plant, and the company continues active engineering hiring. Terran R's first launch is targeted for the second half of 2026, though some industry observers expect a slip into 2027.

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Main Products

Terran 1

Terran 1

Retired

Relativity's pathfinder vehicle, a two-stage small-lift rocket used to validate the company's propulsion, software, and additive-manufacturing approach before the program was retired.

Launched in March 2023 as a pathfinder vehicle and retired after its maiden flight so the company could focus engineering and production resources on Terran R.

Payload to LEO1,250 kg
Height33.5 m (110 ft)
Diameter2.28 m (7.5 ft)
3D-Printed Parts85% by mass
Engines (1st stage)9 × Aeon 1
Launch Attempts1 (March 22, 2023)
Terran R

Terran R

In Development

A two-stage reusable medium-to-heavy-lift rocket designed for constellation deployment, large satellite missions, and higher-cadence commercial and government launch operations.

In integrated vehicle build and testing as of mid-August 2026: the stage-one structural qualification campaign is complete, the flight-one second stage completed cryoproof and COPV manifold proof testing at NASA Stennis's A-2 test stand, and all Flight 1 engines (13 Aeon R first-stage engines plus the Aeon V second-stage engine) have completed acceptance testing. The first Aeon R engines are now being installed onto the first-stage thrust structure at Long Beach, and the LC-16 Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral is structurally complete with pad infrastructure (water tower, flame diverter, lightning protection towers, transporter-erector) continuing to come online. First launch is targeted for the second half of 2026 (some observers expect a slip into 2027).

Payload to LEO23,500 kg (downrange landing)
Height86.6 m (284 ft)
Diameter & Payload Fairing5.4 m (17.7 ft)
Total Liftoff Thrust3,497,000 lbf
Engines13 × Aeon R (LOx/methane, ~258,000 lbf SL each) + 1 × Aeon V vacuum
Target First LaunchLate 2026

What's Next

Terran R first launch

Complete integrated vehicle testing (including first-stage hot-fire at NASA Stennis) and launch Terran R from LC-16 at Cape Canaveral, proving the vehicle in the medium-to-heavy market and beginning execution against a ~$3B launch backlog. Company target remains the second half of 2026, though some industry observers expect the debut to slip into 2027; as of mid-August 2026 all Flight 1 engine acceptance testing is complete and engine installation onto the first-stage thrust structure is underway, but stage mating, hot-fire testing, final LC-16 pad outfitting, and regulatory work still remain before a launch attempt.

Second half of 2026

Complete stage hot-fire test campaigns

With all Flight 1 engine acceptance testing now complete (13 Aeon R first-stage engines plus the Aeon V second-stage engine) and the stage-one structural qualification campaign finished, Relativity's next test milestone is stage-level hot-fire: the fully engined first-stage thrust structure - now being assembled at Long Beach - must be mated to the rest of Stage 1 and shipped to NASA Stennis for hot-fire testing, while the second stage (already through cryoproof and COPV proof testing on Stennis's A-2 stand) has its Aeon V engine installed and returns to the stand for its own hot-fire campaign.

2026

Bring LC-16 fully online for Terran R

Finish outfitting the Horizontal Integration Facility (structurally complete with a 99.8-tonne cleanroom bridge crane installed), launch mount, and transporter-erector so Cape Canaveral operations are ready for first flight. As of mid-August 2026 the pad's water tower has reached full height, flame diverter components are installed, lightning protection tower modules are being assembled ahead of stacking, and earthwork on the access ramp is well advanced, though final stacking and integrated pad testing remain.

2026

Operations & Revenue

StatusDevelopment Stage

Relativity remains a well-funded, pre-revenue development-stage launch company with no signs of financial or leadership distress: Eric Schmidt remains CEO (a role he has held since taking a controlling stake in March 2025), the company is actively hiring across propulsion-test and infrastructure engineering roles, and it is expanding rather than contracting - no layoffs have been reported. As of mid-August 2026 Relativity is in integrated vehicle build and testing: the stage-one structural qualification campaign is complete, the flight-one second stage completed cryoproof and COPV manifold proof testing at NASA Stennis Space Center's A-2 test stand (formally activating that stand), and all Flight 1 engines - the 13 Aeon R first-stage engines and the Aeon V second-stage engine - have completed acceptance testing. The first Aeon R engines are now being installed onto Terran R's first-stage thrust structure at Long Beach ahead of shipment to Stennis for hot-fire testing. At LC-16, Cape Canaveral, the Horizontal Integration Facility is structurally complete with its bridge crane installed, the water tower has reached full height, flame diverter components are installed, and crews continue assembling the pad's lightning protection towers and outfitting the transporter-erector. These milestones drive toward a first Terran R launch targeted for the second half of 2026 (some industry observers expect a slip into 2027). On July 21, 2026 Relativity and Space Florida also announced a statewide expansion anchored by a planned $350 million manufacturing and R&D campus in Titusville (room for 2,000+ employees), with up to $134 million in FDOT Spaceport Improvement Program financing for expanded test and launch infrastructure, to scale Terran R production.

Revenue Streams

Terran R Launch Services

Future launch services for commercial, government, national-security, and telecommunications customers flying on Terran R from Cape Canaveral, underpinned by a ~$3B backlog across 12+ customers (incl. OneWeb Gen-2 and SES). A July 7, 2026 addition to the U.S. Space Force's NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 pool lets Relativity compete for national-security launch task orders, and a June 2026 NASA award tasks Relativity with privately developing (and launching) a Mars science orbiter.

Horizon Manufacturing Technologies

Stand-alone advanced manufacturing business commercializing Relativity's large-scale additive manufacturing stack for energy, aerospace, and defense hardware.

Key Metrics

Employees

2,000

Est. Annual Revenue

Pre-revenue (~$3B contracted launch backlog)

Pre-sold Launch Contracts

~$3B across 12+ customers (incl. OneWeb Gen-2, SES)

Timeline

2026Flight hardware and LC-16 buildout advance

By January 2026, Relativity is integrating first- and second-stage hardware, continuing Aeon engine test campaigns, and advancing major launch equipment at LC-16 ahead of first flight.

2026Terran R second stage heads to Stennis; HIF completed

In June 2026 Relativity reports its first flight-ready Terran R second stage has finished subsystem integration (fluid systems, brackets, harnesses, valves, raceways) and is being readied for transfer to NASA's Stennis Space Center for testing. The first-stage qualification article is structurally complete and entering test while the flight article advances through tank and thrust-structure integration. The Horizontal Integration Facility at LC-16 is now structurally complete with a 99.8-tonne cleanroom bridge crane installed, and Relativity produced 1,455 flight parts in May alone, with backlog at roughly $3B.

2026NASA picks Relativity to privately develop a Mars orbiter

On June 17, 2026 NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announces a public-private partnership in which Relativity will privately develop a Mars orbiter mission: NASA supplies the Aeolus atmospheric-science instrument suite (four instruments built and integrated at NASA Ames), while Relativity provides the spacecraft, its Terran R rocket, and cruise operations, targeting a 2028 launch. The award gives Relativity a high-profile commercial-science role ahead of Terran R's debut.

2026Space Force adds Relativity to NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 pool

On July 7, 2026 the U.S. Space Force added Relativity Federal - alongside orbital-transfer-vehicle developer Impulse Space - to the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 on-ramp, making Relativity eligible to compete for task orders covering lower-priority, higher-risk-tolerant national-security launches, with Space Systems Command obligating $10 million at award. The addition brings the Lane 1 pool to seven vendors (joining SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and Stoke Space) and gives Relativity a national-security launch path as Terran R nears its debut.

2026Terran R second stage reaches Stennis; Flight 1 Aeon R engines pass acceptance

In a mid-July 2026 program update, Relativity reported that its first flight-ready Terran R second stage arrived safely at NASA's Stennis Space Center for testing and that all vehicle structures and closeouts were completed on the first-stage qualification article, transitioning it from manufacturing into factory (structural load) testing. Acceptance testing was completed for all of the Flight 1 Aeon R first-stage engines, while at Launch Complex 16 the water-farm tanks were installed and the liquid-oxygen farm activated as the pad approaches its final configuration - keeping Relativity on track for a Terran R maiden flight targeted by the end of 2026.

2026Announces $350M Florida production and R&D expansion

On July 21, 2026 Relativity Space and Space Florida announced a statewide expansion anchored by a planned $350 million advanced-manufacturing and research campus, with the company evaluating a parcel at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville as its primary site and room for more than 2,000 employees. Space Florida said the investments would create thousands of high-paying jobs in the state by the end of 2034, and the Florida Department of Transportation committed up to $134 million through its Spaceport Improvement Program toward expanded test and launch infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. The new Florida factory would complement Relativity's existing Long Beach, California plant as it scales Terran R production ahead of first flight.

2026Aeon V flight engine starts acceptance testing; LC-16 lightning towers under assembly

By late July 2026 all 13 Aeon R engines slated for Terran R's Flight 1 first stage had completed acceptance testing, and Relativity began acceptance testing on the flight-1 Aeon V vacuum engine that will power the second stage. In parallel at LC-16, construction crews added propellant tanks, installed cranes inside the Horizontal Integration Facility, and continued assembling the pad's lightning protection towers ahead of stacking, alongside PLD Space's Miura 5 and Rocket Lab's Neutron also progressing toward late-2026 debuts.

2026First Aeon R engines installed on Terran R's thrust structure

In early August 2026 Relativity began installing the first Aeon R engines - four outer fixed engines under the landing legs plus nine center gimballed engines, all already acceptance-tested - onto Terran R's first-stage thrust structure using custom ground support equipment. Once fully populated, the thrust structure will be rotated into place and mated to the rest of Stage 1 hardware at Relativity's Long Beach facility before the integrated booster ships to NASA's Stennis Space Center for hot-fire testing.

2026Stage-one qualification complete; all Flight 1 engines pass acceptance testing

By mid-August 2026 Relativity completed the Terran R stage-one structural qualification campaign (420 pressure cycles across 62 load cases, including 4.3 million lbf of axial compression on a full, pressurized tank), and the flight-one second stage completed cryoproof and COPV manifold proof testing on NASA Stennis Space Center's A-2 test stand, formally activating that stand. With the Aeon V second-stage engine finishing acceptance testing alongside the already-qualified 13 Aeon R first-stage engines, all Flight 1 engine testing for Terran R's debut is now complete, and Relativity continued actively hiring propulsion-test and infrastructure engineers to scale the program.

2025Vehicle-level CDR completed

Relativity completes Terran R's vehicle-level critical design review and begins building first-flight hardware across stages, engines, avionics, and software.

2025SES expands Terran R launch agreement

SES expands its multi-launch agreement with Relativity, adding to a Terran R backlog that now spans more than a dozen customers and exceeds $2.9 billion.

2023Terran 1 reaches space

Terran 1 becomes the first 3D-printed rocket to reach space and serves as the company's pathfinder vehicle before retirement.

2023Terran R architecture updated

Relativity reshapes Terran R around the medium-to-heavy launch market, prioritizing a reusable architecture sized for constellation, commercial, and government missions.

2019Series C funding ($140M)

Relativity closes a $140M Series C round led by Bond and Tribe Capital as it scales Terran 1 development and expands launch infrastructure.

2015Founded

Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone found Relativity Space with the vision of 3D-printing entire rockets.

Funding

Cumulative disclosed raise · dated rounds

$500M$1B$1.5B20202021$1.3B raised
RoundDateAmountInvestorsSource
Series C2019$140MBond, Tribe Capital, Playground Global, Y Combinator, Social Capital
Series D2020$500MTiger Global, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, ICONIQ Capital, General Catalyst
Series E2021$650MFidelity, BlackRock, Coatue, Baillie Gifford, Tiger Global

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