New commercial rocket, Terran-1 to debut on March 8.
Relativity Space produces 3D printed rocket in an attempt to reduce costs
Relativity Space marked the first launch of the Terran 1 rocket, called 'GLHF' ( Good Luck, Have Fun ), from Launch Complex 16 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch window opens at 13:00 ET (18:00 UTC) on March 8, 2023. This Terran 1 launch is Relativity's first orbital attempt and will not carry a payload. The window runs from 1 pm to 4 pm EST.
Weather conditions are forecast to be 90% favorable for the launch attempt on Wednesday, improving further to 95% in the event of a 24-hour delay to Thursday. "We expect a weak cold front to move through the area Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, bringing some light drizzle to the area, but it should be out of the area before the launch window opens," noted the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base in their 'L-2' (launch minus 2 days) briefing released on Monday. "The winds are expected to be somewhat light as the pressure gradient increases between the high pressure north and the weak cold front," he added. "The sea breeze should develop and force the clouds that develop inland and away from the launch pad area." Altogether, this is expected to produce a slight violation of the Cumulus Cloud Rule, "in the event that some clouds remain in the area". Reduced winds and lower cloud cover on Thursday are expected to improve the weather picture to 95 percent favourability.
The vehicle for tomorrow's launch departed Relativity's Long Beach facility last year for an extended static test campaign at Stennis before arriving in Florida in June. Over the next few months, she underwent a series of spin-start tests of her first-stage engines, with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch permit initially covering the July-December period for an initial launch attempt.