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The Zhuque-2 rocket lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday China said the rocket completed the flight mission. Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via EPA-EFE July 12 (UPI) -- A methane-fueled rocket, launched by China, has reached orbit for the first time, beating out potential competitors from the United States and indicating a renewed effort by that nation to land astronauts on the moon with a more powerful spacecraft. Built by Landspace, a private Chinese company, the 164-foot Zhuque-2 rocket lifted off from its Jiuquan launch complex, in China's Inner Mongolia, on Wednesday morning local time, Chinese...

Relativity Space will launch its first 3D printer-made rocket from the space station on Wednesday. Photo courtesy Relativity Space March 8 (UPI) -- The Relativity Space launcher Terran 1 will try to become the first 3D-printed rocket to reach space when it blasts off Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The test flight mission dubbed "Good Luck Have Fun" is scheduled to take off at about 1 p.m., EST. Some 85% of the mass of the 110-foot tall, two-stage rocket was made by a 3D printer and could play a key role in driving down the cost of...

Relativity Space, a Los Angeles orbital launch startup, has just released a short video showing its innovative Aeon 1 3D printed rocket engine in action. The impressive piece of equipment consists of just three 3D printed parts and is capable of reaching full thrust force in milliseconds. We’ve known for awhile that Relativity Space was working on some pretty cool stuff. This past October, for instance, the company announced the development of the Stargate 3D printer, which it says it the largest metal 3D printing system in the world. The machine, which consists of multiple laser-equipped Kuka robotic arms and...