LA firm raises £450m to 3D-print rockets to help us live on Mars (really)
Blackrock and actor Jared Leto are among investors in a $650m (£450m) capital raise by a Californian firm which plans to 3D-print rocket boosters that the founder claims are part of efforts to live on Mars.
Relativity Space, founded by Tim Ellis – a former engineer at Jeff Bezos’ space firm Blue Origin – is aiming to bring rocket boosters to market in 2024.
The rockets will be printed by gigantic 3D-printers.
CEO Tim Ellis told Reuters that the technology is the “holy grail” that will advance the world’s space ambitions.
He told Business Insider that “from the beginning, our vision for Relativity was to create a company that can build the industrial base on Mars once we get there and support a multiplanetary future.”
His former boss Bezos announced earlier this month that he and his brother would be aboard the first human flight launched by Blue Origin.
Relativity Space’s raise values the firm at around $4.2bn (£3bn), though the company is yet to actually launch a rocket.
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