The Terran 1 rocket, which was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, suffered a failure shortly after lifting off.
The rocket ascended propelled by a vertical stream of bright white fire, which turned a shade of blue as it launched into the sky.
"Today's launch proved Relativity's 3D-printed rocket technologies that will enable our next vehicle, Terran R," the company said on Twitter.
"We successfully made it through Max-Q, the highest stress state on our printed structures. This is the biggest proof point for our novel additive manufacturing approach," it added.
The company said with many historic firsts, it "also progressed through Main Engine Cutoff and Stage Separation."