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WASHINGTON – Small developer Relativity announced on April 5th the signing of a contract with Telesat for the launch of part of the company's low-Earth-wide orbit broadband satellite constellation.
The contract is for the launch of an undetermined number of Telesat LEO satellites on the Relativity Terran 1 launch vehicle, starting in 2021 at the earliest. The companies refused to disclose the terms of the contract.
In an interview, Tim Ellis, CEO of Relativity, said the deal was the first Terran 1 customer announced by the company. He added that Relativity had previously signed a contract with another customer, which has not yet been announced.
"What's really remarkable about this and the importance so important to Relativity and the industry, is that it's the first time that Telesat, or any other global satellite operator, has selected a fully venture-based aerospace start-up for launch services, "said Ellis, noting that the companies had been engaged in lengthy discussions before the announcement of the contract. "We believe that the credibility of Telesat's alignment is huge for what relativity is developing."
Relativity is developing the Terran 1, designed to place up to 1,250 kilograms in a low Earth orbit for $ 10 million per launch. The company uses a lot of additive manufacturing technologies to be able to produce the rocket cheaply and quickly.
This use of advanced technology has attracted Telesat. "At the beginning of our LEO program, we decided that, in addition to working with outstanding leaders in manufacturing and satellite launch services that we know well, Telesat should also include NewSpace companies whose technologies and methods of manufacturing offer lower costs and greater flexibility for deploying our constellation, "said Dave Wendling, chief technical director of Telesat, in a statement.
In January, Telesat announced the signing of a contract with Blue Origin for several New Glenn vehicle launches under development. New Glenn is at the other end of the Terran 1 launchers spectrum, with the possibility of placing 45 tons in low Earth orbit.
This suggests that Telesat plans to rely on New Glenn, and possibly other large launch vehicles, to deploy most of its proposed constellation, with Terran 1 being used to fill system gaps. Ellis pointed out that relativity offers other benefits to Telesat. "We offer unique capabilities with very fast manufacturing and response time," he said. Once in service, Relativity stated that it would be able to manufacture a vehicle "from raw material to launch loan" within 60 days.
Telesat plans to create a first constellation of more than 100 satellites, which will eventually have 292 satellites. The company plans to choose a manufacturer by the end of the year, either Airbus Defense and Space or a consortium of Maxar Technologies and Thales Alenia Space.
Ellis said that relativity was attracting increasing interest from a number of other companies in the constellation of satellites. The vehicle can also support medium-Earth orbit missions and even some small geostationary orbit satellites. He added that the request came from various US government agencies.
The development of Terran 1 remains on schedule for a first orbital launch "by the end of 2020," he said. The company is approaching the final version of the Aeon 's rocket engine while performing other work on the vehicle, ranging from structural testing to avionics development.
The company, which announced in January an initial agreement with the US Air Force for the establishment of a launch facility at Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Air Base in Florida, is currently following the environmental review process and building permits issued for this facility. Ellis added that Relativity was "in the last step" of identifying a launch site on the west coast that would allow Terran 1 to launch missions into polar orbits.
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