Last-minute 3D-printed rocket launch aborted

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rocket built almost exclusively from 3D-printed parts was still on the platform Wednesday after its first launch was aborted at the last minute.

California-based Relativity Space was trying to launch the rocket into orbit from a former missile launch site at the Cape Canaveral space station. It was not immediately announced when the company might make a second attempt.

On-board computers suspended the countdown with just over a minute to go due to a problem with the temperature of the rocket’s upper stage. Mission Control decided to fix the problem and try again before the launch window closed, but ultimately decided to leave it for another day.

It’s a relatively small rocket, 110 feet (33 meters) tall, and the only thing it will carry is a souvenir: the first metal 3D print from the company’s printers.

85% of the rocket, called Terran, is made from 3D-printed parts from the company’s factory in Long Beach, California, including the engines. Relativity Space aims to increase this ratio in future releases.

SpaceX’s Falcon rockets have been flying with 3D printed parts for years, but not as much as the new Terran.

Relativity Space said its rocket is the largest 3D-printed object ever attempted to launch.

Businessman Mark Cuban, from the television show Shark Tank, was one of the company’s first investors.

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