{"id":18176,"date":"2019-01-17T18:43:42","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T10:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/relativity-space-gets-a-historic-place-to-use-for-its-cape-canaveral-launch-pad-in-florida\/"},"modified":"2019-01-17T18:43:42","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T10:43:42","slug":"relativity-space-gets-a-historic-place-to-use-for-its-cape-canaveral-launch-pad-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/relativity-space-gets-a-historic-place-to-use-for-its-cape-canaveral-launch-pad-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Relativity Space gets a historic place to use for its Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Liftoff\"
An artist\u2019s conception shows Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station\u2019s Launch Complex 16. (Relativity Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Relativity Space, the California-based rocket startup that got its start in Seattle, has won Air Force clearance to build its Florida launch facility on a site that saw service during NASA\u2019s Apollo and Gemini programs in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

The agreement gives Relativity Space exclusive use of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station\u2019s Launch Complex 16 \u2014 which was first used for Titan missile launches, and then for Gemini crew processing and static firing tests of the Apollo service module\u2019s propulsion engine under NASA\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\n

After Apollo, the site was returned to the Air Force and used for test-firing Pershing ballistic missiles. Launch Complex 16 has been largely dormant since the Pershing program was deactivated in 1988 to comply with the U.S.-Soviet Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.<\/p>\n

Veteran aerospace executive Tim Buzza, an adviser who came to Relativity Space after working for SpaceX and Virgin Orbit, said there\u2019s little left today that existed during the launch complex\u2019s glory days \u2014 only a round blockhouse, a covered walkway and a ramp to the launch platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t anything historical that\u2019s been brought up to us,\u201d Buzza told GeekWire.<\/p>\n

The roughly 18-acre site is thus a blank slate that Relativity plans to improve. It\u2019ll add an integration hangar, an engineering and support building, a payload processing facility, propellant storage tanks and everything else that\u2019s needed to start launching the company\u2019s 3-D-printed Terran 1 rockets by the end of next year.<\/p>\n

\"Launch
This artwork shows Relativity Space\u2019s vision for Launch Complex 16. (Relativity Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Launch
Relativity Space has big construction plans for Launch Complex 16. (Relativity Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Relativity\u2019s five-year agreement, with an option to extend to 20 years, puts the four-year-old venture in elite company: Only SpaceX (Launch Complex 40), Blue Origin (LC-36) and United Launch Alliance (LC-37 and LC-41) have similar arrangements for a major operational orbital launch site on the Air Force\u2019s prime East Coast launch grounds.<\/p>\n

The company was founded in Seattle in 2015 by CEO Tim Ellis, a former Blue Origin engineer; and chief technology officer Jordan Noone, a former SpaceX engineer. It quickly relocated to Los Angeles. Over the past nine months, the venture has grown from a team of 14 to about 60 employees, including a dozen senior leaders from the likes of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Orbit and Tesla.<\/p>\n

That growth has been fueled by more than $45 million in investment, with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Playground Global, Y Combinator and Social Capital among Relativity\u2019s leading backers.<\/p>\n

The L.A. headquarters is home to a huge 3-D printer, nicknamed Stargate, that can produce metal parts for Relativity\u2019s Aeon 1 rocket engine and Terran 1 rocket.<\/p>\n

Last year, the company reached an agreement with NASA to use an engine test complex at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Buzza said Relativity has been at work on the site, but the partial government shutdown is having an impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, some of the interaction that we\u2019ve been having has come to a halt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n