In August, Tim Ellis co-founder and then CEO of Relativity Space posted this tweet hinting at Terran R hardware.

Tweet from Tim Ellis

The following day, Relativity Space unveiled the hardware Tim was referring to, two giant fairings. However, some quickly noticed that these fairings were made by Beyond Gravity and weren't even for Terran R but rather for Ariane 6. While Beyond Gravity is going to make Terran R's fairings, the lack of communication and substance left people underwhelmed or upset.

Daniel Chrétien points out the blunder. (We are not claiming that Daniel was upset or anything with Relativity)

Since then and the following (not so positive) social media buzz from some people, Relativity and Tim, have been relatively (see what I did there) silent. Many online even feared the company was going through very, very tough times on the brink of bankruptcy and potentially leaving the launch provider business as a whole.

However, today, Relativity Space dropped a whole bunch of new information, from renders, quick facts and even staff changes! Firstly, the space company has a new CEO, Eric Schmidt, a former CEO at Google. Schmidt is also bringing in a huge amount of financial backing to the space startup. As for Tim? He is staying on-board as a board member and co-founder!

Now before we dive into all the juicy information Relativity Space has shared with us, I highly recommend you go and check out this update video from Relativity Space as this article is essentially just a brief overview of it!

Terran R Gunning for Q4 2026 Maiden Launch

Terran R is now in its ”Critical Design Review” phase of development less than a year and a half after the initial design process began. This essentially means that teams at Relativity are putting their final touches and changes on the rocket before it begins flying customer payloads!

Progress, Progress and More Progress

From Top Left to Bottom Right: Terran R tank barrel, LC-16 pad progress underway, dual-bay test stand at Stennis, three of the six (cropped out) first flight domes! Credit: Relativity Space

During the break from posting regularly, a lot of progress has been made in getting the manufacturing lines, hardware, and infrastructure needed to get Terran R ready for its maiden launch and beyond. According to Kevin Wu, Chief Technology Officer,

The thing that really drives us is making a commercially viable product that can be produced."

Here are just a few quick, rapid facts of what the company has done since they last gave us updates:

✦ Since February 2025 160+ CDRs have been completed

✦ Terran R is halfway through its design review process

✦ All six domes for the first flight are built

✦ All second stage tank barrels are built and are currently being welded

✦ As of last month 500+ valve tests have been performed

✦ 68 lasers are printing Aeon R development and flight hardware

✦ 6,500+ seconds of engine testing on all iteration

✦ Thrust Structure construction is well underway

✦ GNC teams have been running simulations and refining hardware for Terran R's maiden flight

✦ Work on LC-16 and test stands for Aeon R is going swimmingly

We also learned some more about the propulsion system that will power Terran R on its way to orbit. Of the 13 Aeon engines located on the first stage, 9 of them will be able to gimble while four will be fixed.

Terran R power pack diagram. Yellow engines are fixed, Blue are able to gimble providing control on ascent and during the re-entry and landing burn phases! Credit: Relativity Space/NoLifeJordan on Twitter

The Aeon-R engines are mostly made via additive manufacturing based on legacy hardware and practices from Aeon-1. Ryan Kraft, VP of Integrated Performance, said that,

In areas where we know that we need to iterate to learn we use manufacturing processes that our really nimble."

Propulsion teams at Relativity are currently in the process of developing Aeon-R 1.4 building off of the success of 1.3. They intend to use AR 1.4 on the maiden launch of Terran R. Currently AR 1.3 is the closest the company has to a flight-like engine, it has even done tests with flight avionics giving teams at Relativity more insight into how their upcoming rocket will perform.

As of February, 2,000+ component tests have been done on the Aeon-R rocket. Mind you Aeon-R first static fire back in December of 2023, less than two years ago.

Aeon-R 1.3 Sea Level (Left) and Vacuum (Right) information sheet Credit: Relativity Space

Terran R Change’s its style (again)

Terran R in 2023 vs Terran R in 2025 Credit: Relativity Space (made by yours truly)

During the development of any product, or in this case, a rocket, the beginning and end designs differ a bit. That is especially true for Terran R, as we have a closer look at what the rocket will look like when it's all put together. One of the significant changes from the previous version (bar no cool decals) is the new grid fins. Made out of Titanium, four non-deployable grid fins will help guide and control the first stage back to its landing zone. These grid fins definitely took some inspiration from SpaceX's Super-Heavy booster!

While the bulk of Terran R is made of 2195 aluminum, the first stage has stringers running along the tank barrels to reduce strain and decrease the chance of buckling under pressure. These stringers are made of 2196 aluminum. The fairings are carbon composite and, as mentioned above, are built by Beyond Gravity.

While Terran R is still over a year away from flying, Relativity Space is already planning the block two and three designs of the rocket. These variants intend to further the performance and reusability of the launch vehicle. There is still a long road ahead, but man, am I hyped for Terran R! Best of luck to Relativity Space; I can't wait to hear more.