Photos: World's first 3D-printed rocket lifts off but fails to reach orbit

The world's first 3D-printed rocket launched successfully on Wednesday, marking a step forward for the California company behind the innovative spacecraft, though it failed to reach orbit.

After successfully launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday night, an anomaly cropped up after the rocket's stages separated. A livestream of the launch showed the ignition of the upper stage engine seemingly cutting out early. Still, the Relativity team ended coverage on a positive note, saying the company collected critical data proving its 3D-printed manufacturing technique works.

The California-based company's 110-foot tall Terran 1 rocket, which is 85% made of 3D-printed parts, lifted off on its debut flight around 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT on Thursday) from a launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.

Roughly 80 seconds into the flight at an altitude of nearly 10 miles (16 km) above the Atlantic ocean, the rocket reached peak aerodynamic stress as it ascended toward space at 1,242 miles per hour (1,999 km per hour), passing a key objective of the test mission.

Upon reaching space, the rocket's second stage engine appeared to briefly ignite but failed to achieve thrust, ultimately failing to reach orbit.

Relativity's goal is to produce a rocket that is 95 percent 3D-printed. Terran 1 is powered by engines using liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas - the "propellants of the future," capable of eventually fueling a voyage to Mars, Relativity says.

SpaceX's Starship and Vulcan rockets being developed by United Launch Alliance use the same fuel.

The first launch of a Terran R, which is designed to be fully reusable, is scheduled for next year.

A satellite operator can wait for years for a spot on an Arianespace or SpaceX rocket, and Relativity Space hopes to accelerate the timeline with its 3D-printed rockets.

Relativity said its 3D-printed versions use 100 times fewer parts than traditional rockets and can be built from raw materials in just 60 days.

Relativity has signed commercial launch contracts worth $1.65 billion, mostly for the Terran R, according to CEO Tim Ellis, who co-founded the company in 2015.