June 2026 Company Update

June brought continued momentum across the Terran R program, with major milestones across first stage qualification, second stage transport, and launch site readiness.

Design
In June, the team released 2,238 flight parts. Engineers remain focused on the first stage, releasing nearly all components required for the first stage shipping assembly including fluids, structures, avionics, and harnesses.

Build
This design sprint unlocked downstream first stage integration, with teams progressing stringer and doubler drill operations, installing stringer joiners, and drilling raceway brackets. On the thrust structure, fluids builds advanced ahead of avionics testing and leak checks.

All vehicle structures and closeouts were completed on the stage one qualification article, and it was officially handed off from manufacturing to factory test.

Test
The stage one article was transported to the parking lot using two heavy lift forklifts, where it was lifted into the structural test stand atop the base barrel. Teams installed the load head and integrated ropes with large axial actuators, which apply compressive loads on the tank. After activating the water system and completing initial checkouts, qualification officially began, with initial proof test cases successfully completed. The tank will undergo proof cases with mechanical and pressure loads, lifecycle testing with repeated pressure cycles to validate durability and ultimate loading cases to prove ultimate strength capability of the tank in pressurized conditions.

Meanwhile, the second stage arrived safely in Mississippi. After moving through the Panama Canal, the transport vessel arrived in Gulfport, where the stage was transferred onto a barge and continued its journey via the Pearl River to NASA Stennis, where it was unloaded and delivered to the nearby hangar. 

In parallel, teams at NASA Stennis readied the hangar and A2 stage test stand for stage two’s arrival. The diverter, measuring 97 feet (30 meters) long and weighing 1.4 million pounds (635 metric tons), arrived on-site and was transported to the test stand and installed. This critical piece of hardware protects the stage and test infrastructure by redirecting the exhaust plume and associated heat during testing. The stand's access platform was raised into position and hold downs were installed, bringing the A2 stand closer to activation ahead of the upcoming stage two hot fire campaign.

On the R stand, acceptance testing (ATP) for all flight one Aeon R first stage engines is complete, and acceptance testing for the flight one Aeon V second stage engine has begun.

Launch
At Launch Complex 16 (LC-16) in Cape Canaveral, the pad and surrounding infrastructure continued advancing toward operational readiness. 60,000 gallon (227 m³) tanks were installed at the water farm, and tanks were activated at the liquid oxygen (LOX) farm. Crane installation is underway at the horizontal integration facility (HIF), and the lower portions of both lightning protection systems (LPS) are complete. Launch table construction is ongoing, with concrete work progressing on the breezeway and approach road. 

This month, Relativity also announced the Interplanetary Sciences Program (ISP), an initiative to enable radically more science per dollar by building the next generation of interplanetary capabilities, making discovery more capable and accessible. The program's first mission will be a Mars science orbiter launching in 2028, flying Relativity and NASA-developed payloads.

Both Terran R and ISP ladder up to Relativity's larger vision of expanding high cadence access to space and advancing science. Stay tuned for more updates on our journey.