{"id":18097,"date":"2019-04-05T19:56:44","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T11:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/relativity-joins-blue-origin-to-provide-launches-for-telesats-broadband-satellites\/"},"modified":"2019-04-05T19:56:44","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T11:56:44","slug":"relativity-joins-blue-origin-to-provide-launches-for-telesats-broadband-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/relativity-joins-blue-origin-to-provide-launches-for-telesats-broadband-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Relativity joins Blue Origin to provide launches for Telesat\u2019s broadband satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_490196\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-490196\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-490196\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/190404-relativity-630x410.jpg\" alt=\"Relativity Terran 1 liftoff\" width=\"630\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/190404-relativity-630x410.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/190404-relativity-768x500.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/190404-relativity-1260x820.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-490196\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (Relativity Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis is a veteran of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture \u2014 and in a sense, you could say that Ellis and Blue Origin are on the same team once again.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the startup that Ellis co-founded in Seattle and moved to Los Angeles is making its first announcement of a launch contract, and it\u2019s a big one: Relativity Space will provide multiple launches for Telesat, the Canadian telecom giant that\u2019s planning to put scores of satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver global broadband connectivity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first time Telesat or any major global satellite operator has selected a completely venture-backed aerospace startup for launch services,\u201d Ellis told GeekWire.<\/p>\n<p>The deal calls for satellites to be launched on Relativity\u2019s yet-to-be-flown Terran 1 rocket, starting no earlier than 2021. For proprietary reasons, Ellis couldn\u2019t provide other details, such as the exact number of launches covered by the deal, the contract\u2019s dollar value or even where the launches would be conducted.<\/p>\n<p>He did say the deal has been in the works since 2016, when Relativity Space had only seven people on its payroll. Now the company employs 80 people, and an average of two employees are being added every week, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s announcement comes a little more than two months after Telesat and Blue Origin announced a separate deal for multiple satellite launches on Blue Origin\u2019s yet-to-be-built New Glenn rocket, also targeted for the 2021-or-later time frame.<\/p>\n<p>Telesat launched its first low-Earth-orbit broadband satellite last year \u2014 and eventually plans to build up a constellation in low Earth orbit, or LEO, comprising hundreds of satellites designed to provide global broadband services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really excited to join the ranks of Telesat and Blue Origin to be able to support this constellation,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"How 3D printing is spurring revolutionary advances in manufacturing and design\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Adl1Sn86ojs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Telesat\u2019s chief technical officer, Dave Wending, praised Relativity Space for applying 3-D printing technology to the manufacture of rocket components.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarly in our LEO program we decided that, in addition to working with outstanding leaders in satellite manufacturing and launch services who we know well, Telesat should also include NewSpace companies whose technologies and manufacturing methods offer lower costs and greater flexibility for deploying our constellation,\u201d Wending said in a news release. \u201cRelativity is just such a company with their metal 3-D printing, use of robotics and other advances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellis said Relativity Space is on track to conduct its first orbital test launch from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida by the end of 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Florida launch facility, the company has its headquarters and rocket factory in Los Angeles, featuring a room-sized, robotic 3-D printer called Stargate. The L.A. operation is expected to relocate to a bigger facility this year.<\/p>\n<p>Relativity makes use of facilities at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to test its 3-D-printed Aeon 1 rocket engine, and it\u2019s currently looking for a West Coast launch site. Although Ellis didn\u2019t say so, Vandenberg Air Force Base seems to be the likeliest spot. And for what it\u2019s worth, Blue Origin is planning to develop a launch site at Vandenberg as well.<\/p>\n<p>All these expansion plans are expected to boost Relativity\u2019s infrastructure footprint to more than 350,000 square feet by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Telesat is by no means the only satellite venture targeting the global broadband market: SpaceX and OneWeb are also planning large satellite constellations, and this week, Amazon said it would join the fray. There\u2019s a chance that Relativity Space could get some of that business as well. After all, Blue Origin already has a launch contract from OneWeb, and because of the Bezos connection, it\u2019s sure to be in the running for Amazon\u2019s business as well.<\/p>\n<p>Ellis has fond memories of his days at Blue Origin, and although Relativity Space\u2019s headquarters is now firmly settled in Los Angeles, he said a Seattle office could well be part of the company\u2019s long-range plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s still always in the back of our minds,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (Relativity Space Illustration) Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis is a veteran of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture \u2014 and in a sense, you could say that Ellis and Blue Origin are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[252,1685,20,442,2739],"class_list":["post-18097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-broadband","tag-relativity-space","tag-satellite","tag-satellites","tag-telesat"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}