The value of the theory of relativity appears to be plummeting. In recent years, Relativity Space, an innovative startup based in California, has become a darling of investors and the media. But it appears the honeymoon is over, Ars reports. A little more than a year ago, Relativity reached a valuation of $4.5 billion as a result of its latest Series F funding round. This was despite launching just one rocket before abandoning the program and pivoting to developing a significantly larger, reusable launch vehicle. The decision means Relativity won’t make significant profits for several years, and Ars reported in September about some of the challenges the company faced developing its much larger Terran R rocket.
gravity always wins … Relativity is a private company, so its financial statements are not publicly available. But we can get some clues from the quarterly report issued by Fidelity Investments, which owns Relativity stock. As of March 2024, Fidelity values its 1.67 million shares at an estimated value of $31.8 million. However, in the recently released report, which was completed on November 29 last year, Fidelity’s evaluation of the theory of relativity plummeted. At the time, Relativity’s stock was thought to be worth just $866,735, or 52 cents per share. Shares in other funding rounds are also worth less than $1 each.
SpaceX has already launched four times this year. The space company is getting an early start to 2025, with four missions scheduled for the first nine days of the year. Two of these missions launched Starlink internet satellites, while the other two deployed Emirati-owned geostationary communications satellites and the StarShield surveillance satellite constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office. In its new year forecast, SpaceX estimates it will launch more than 170 Falcon rockets, ranging from Falcon 9 to Falcon Heavy. Spaceflight Now report. This is in addition to SpaceX’s plans to fly up to 25 Starship rocket flights from Texas.
What does this year have in store? … Highlights of this year’s SpaceX launch manifest include attempts to capture and recover Starship as it returns from orbit, Starship’s first in-orbit cryogenic propellant transfer demonstration, and possibly a second one at Starbase in South Texas. This will include the debut of the launch pad. Notable missions this year for the Falcon rocket fleet include the launch of a commercial robotic lunar lander for NASA’s CLPS program and several crewed flights, including the first human spaceflight mission to fly in polar orbit. It will be done. A Falcon 9 rocket could launch private startup Vasto’s commercial small space station by the end of the year, according to a published schedule. That would be a significant accomplishment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this schedule picks up.
