August 2025 Company Update

Throughout August, the Terran R program continued to make measurable progress toward first launch, delivering on critical program milestones.

Design
This month, the team completed 18 component-level Critical Design Reviews (CDRs), most of which focused on the second stage engine and fluids systems. In addition, all machined fluid components for the thrust structure, including all valve assemblies, have now been released for production. 

The stage engineering teams including structures, mechanisms, and fluids continue to work hard to close designs for the first and second stages, recently releasing our first composite parts and increasing their focus on re-use systems such as landing legs. 

Build
Manufacturing and assembly of the thrust structure is now complete. As one of the most intricate and structurally complex elements of the launch vehicle, its completion required close coordination among dozens of teams across the organization as well as the introduction of advanced manufacturing methods to enable high-rate production. 

In parallel, the final first stage barrels for first flight have been welded on the vertical friction stir welder. With this milestone, all eight first stage barrels and both second stage barrels for Terran R’s inaugural flight are now complete.  

With barrel welding complete, welding of the first stage tank has commenced. The first circumferential friction stir weld has been completed, joining two fuel barrels together. Welding of the first stage downcomer is also in progress. 

The team activated the paint booth in August, marking another major production capability now online at our factory. Additionally, manufacturing and assembly of the first flight engine is complete. The engine has been shipped to NASA Stennis, where it will be installed on the test stand ahead of upcoming acceptance testing. 

Test
The factory test team activated the structural test stand in Long Beach, designed to test the thrust structure as well as the first and second stages. This activation represents the culmination of several years of work, encompassing the construction of structural and fluid systems, integration of data systems, software deployment, and IT configuration. The stand is engineered to withstand up to 6,000,000 pounds of compression, 170,000 pounds of shear, and pressures of up to 250 pounds per square inch gauge. 

Following activation, the thrust structure was installed on the stand and we initiated multi-week acceptance testing. We tested a flight case simulating maximum dynamic pressure (max Q) and are preparing for a hold-down case replicating conditions on the launch pad. 

At NASA Stennis, we began hot fire testing on a development article of our second stage vacuum engine, Aeon V. The team successfully demonstrated operations across throttle, mixture ratio, and gimbal ranges. The first stage engine is being prepared for upcoming acceptance testing on the second bay of the dual-bay test stand. 

Nine commodity tanks arrived at NASA Stennis for the A2 structural test stand. Once installed, these tanks will provide a combined storage capacity of 650,000 gallons for liquid oxygen, liquid natural gas, and liquid nitrogen to support stage testing operations. 

In avionics, the team made significant progress on the path to completing vehicle hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing this year. Initial avionics hardware has been integrated into the system, and ground software and equipment was used to successfully send commands and receive data from ground hardware to avionics, demonstrating ground-to-vehicle communication. The first version of vehicle software has been deployed to the avionics system, laying the groundwork for future testing and mission operations. 

Launch
At Cape Canaveral, launch site development continues to advance at a rapid pace. This month, the team completed a major concrete pour for a critical element of the launch mount, the transporter erector (TE) cap. This TE cap will bear the loads of vertically lifting a fully integrated Terran R vehicle while mated to the TE. The scope of this operation was substantial, requiring more than 250 cement trucks over a 12-hour period. 

In parallel, fabrication of the water tower is progressing, with the majority of the storage tank now welded together on-site. Additionally, installation has begun on the support stanchions for the above-ground piping systems, which will enable the flow of critical commodities to the site’s ground systems infrastructure. 

From primary structure manufacturing to infrastructure readiness, the Terran R program achieved meaningful advancements this month. These milestones position us strongly as we continue preparing for first flight and beyond.