A senior engineer has left SpaceX to work for Relativity Space

Enlarge / Zach Dunn with the Merlin engine that powered the successful fourth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket. (credit: SpaceX)

Relativity Space, a California-based company pushing hard toward the inaugural flight of its Terran 1 rocket by the end of 2021, has hired a senior launch official from SpaceX. Zach Dunn, formerly Senior Vice President of Production and Launch at SpaceX, will become Vice President of Factory Development at Relativity.

In joining Relativity, Dunn will work for a company that seeks to build a rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts. And if that goal were not fantastical enough, Relativity also plans to automate as much of the rocket assembly and test process as possible. That is what Dunn was hired for.

The well-capitalized startup recently announced plans to build a large 3D-printing factory in Long Beach, California. Relativity intends to start with rockets, but it also has plans to additively manufacture large objects for other industries. Dunn's first job will be to oversee the development of this facility, said Tim Ellis, co-founder of Relativity. "We really are looking to develop the factory of the future, as its own product," Ellis said.