3D-printed Rocket Fails Minutes after Florida Launch
2023-03-24
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1A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts started its first flight late Wednesday but failed to reach orbit.
2The 33-meter-long rocket, called Terran 1, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
3The startup company Relativity Space created 85 percent of the rocket using 3D printing technology.
4Most parts came from the company's large printing center in Long Beach, California.
5Terran 1 took off successfully and stayed in the air for three minutes.
6The first stage, or lower part, of the rocket launched and separated as planned.
7The upper stage, however, appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.
8Relativity Space had hoped for the rocket to stay in orbit for several days before falling through Earth's atmosphere and burning up.
9It was the second failed launch by Relativity Space this month.
10The company called off an attempt 12 days ago just seconds before takeoff.
11Though the rocket did not reach orbit, the company said it was pleased with the launch.
12Arwa Tizani Kelly works for Relativity Space and discussed the launch.
13Kelly said that "(first) launches are always exciting and today's flight was no exception."
14Although other space businesses use 3D-printed materials, the pieces make up only a small part of their rockets.
15Relativity Space was founded in 2015 by two young engineers.
16The company said it is working to develop larger versions of the rocket that will have even more 3D-printed material.
17I'm Dan Friedell.
1A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts started its first flight late Wednesday but failed to reach orbit. The 33-meter-long rocket, called Terran 1, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2The startup company Relativity Space created 85 percent of the rocket using 3D printing technology. Most parts came from the company's large printing center in Long Beach, California. 3Terran 1 took off successfully and stayed in the air for three minutes. The first stage, or lower part, of the rocket launched and separated as planned. The upper stage, however, appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. 4Relativity Space had hoped for the rocket to stay in orbit for several days before falling through Earth's atmosphere and burning up. 5It was the second failed launch by Relativity Space this month. The company called off an attempt 12 days ago just seconds before takeoff. 6Though the rocket did not reach orbit, the company said it was pleased with the launch. 7Arwa Tizani Kelly works for Relativity Space and discussed the launch. Kelly said that "(first) launches are always exciting and today's flight was no exception." 8Although other space businesses use 3D-printed materials, the pieces make up only a small part of their rockets. 9Relativity Space was founded in 2015 by two young engineers. The company said it is working to develop larger versions of the rocket that will have even more 3D-printed material. 10I'm Dan Friedell. 11Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 12__________________________________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 143-D printing -n. the process of creating an object layer by layer, using a design made on a computer 15ignite -v. to cause something to burn 16__________________________________________________________________ 17We want to hear from you. Do you think this space business will be successful? 18We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 19Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.