Former Google chief Eric Schmidt takes the reins at rocket startup Relativity Space

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has assumed the top job at an ambitious launch startup.

Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2011, has been named CEO at Relativity Space, a California company that's building a rocket to compete with SpaceX and other major players in the launch industry.

Schmidt, who's worth about $33 billion, has also made a "significant" financial investment in Relativity Space, according to The New York Times, which broke the story on Monday (March 10).

Relativity Space was founded in early 2016 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone, both of whom once worked at Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company. Schmidt takes over as CEO from Ellis, who remains on the board, according to SpaceNews. (Noone stepped down from his role as Relativity Space chief technology officer in 2020.)

Video: Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis on 3d-printed rockets and the future

In 2017, Relativity Space began developing its first rocket, a relatively small, 3D-printed vehicle called the Terran 1. The expendable, two-stage Terran 1 flew for the first and only time in March 2023, notching a number of milestones but failing to reach orbit.

Shortly thereafter, the company retired the Terran 1 to focus on the bigger, partially reusable Terran R, which is expected to debut sometime in 2026. That shift was not a huge surprise; Relativity Space had stressed that the Terran 1 was a pathfinder for the more powerful Terran R.

The Terran R will feature a reusable first stage, like SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9. And the two rockets will have a similar lift capacity; 26 tons (23.5 metric tons) to low Earth orbit for the Terran R, compared to 25.1 tons (22.8 metric tons) for the Falcon 9.

Relativity Space says it has already signed Terran R launch agreements worth more than $2.9 billion.

Like its competitor SpaceX, Relativity Space is dreaming very big.

"At Relativity Space, we have the long-term goal of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars," the company's website states.

"The first chapter of that journey begins right here on Earth — designing, building and flying rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Our work is shaping the future of space exploration as we build towards an interplanetary society between Earth and Mars. The next chapter begins now."