Second Flight Planned For October
Masten Space Systems successfully
demonstrated multiple sustained free flights of its XA-0.1B
vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL) rocket this past week.
The longest flight was 93 seconds and involved a flight between two
pads 60 meters apart. This marks the first time a purely rocket
powered VTVL has flown from Mojave Air and Space Port.
"The flight was absolutely beautiful! The control systems were
designed to control the vehicle to high accuracy, and worked. We
landed within a few inches of the target. That's pretty amazing
considering the vehicle is balanced on top of a plume of burning
alcohol," Masten Space Systems CEO David Masten said. "It feels
great watching something work exactly the way you designed it to
work."
XA-0.1B, or "Xombie" as it is called by the team, uses an
internally developed flight control system using readily available
commercial components. "The rocket tilt to start the translation
seemed to have caught the crowd by surprise! While we weren't able
to test all the flight details under the tether, the control system
worked exactly as expected," said Flight Controls Engineer Ian
Garcia. Since May, the vehicle had been flying short test flights
tethered to a crane for safety.
Masten XA-0.1B Untethered Flight Photo
Credit Mike Massee
Xombie's propulsion system is a proprietary regeneratively
cooled isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen rocket engine. The
engine was originally designed for 750 pounds of thrust but is now
running it over 810 pounds. Inspection of the vehicle after the
flight revealed minor damage to the thrust chamber that prevented
further flights that day. "We have a good handle on the problem and
we're already working on a fix," said propulsion engineer Jonathan
Goff. "We should be back in the air in a week or so."
Last week's flights were part of the Masten team's first attempt
at winning the NASA funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge
Level 1 competition. The Challenge is to fly two flights between
two pads at least 50 meters apart. The flight time between each pad
must be at least 90 seconds. Even though the first leg appeared
flawless, the team decided that, though the engine damage appeared
minor, it was better to use one of the scheduled Challenge dates in
October to try again.
Masten VA-01b Tethered
Flight
"Completing these milestones puts the company squarely on track
for high altitude commercial flights starting in 2010. If you are
interested in flying with us, now is the time to get the ball
rolling," said Michael Mealling, Vice President of Business
Development. "Along with our recent DARPA SBIR contract, this
flight signals the start of a new phase of our business."
In addition to flying "Xombie," the Masten team is assembling
and testing another vehicle - XA0.1E - for attempts at the Level
Two Challenge in October. XA0.1E, nicknamed "Xoie", is lighter and
has larger propellant tanks for the additional flight time required
for Level Two. After the Challenge season is over, Xoie will be
used for high altitude flight tests. "Ultimately, we are looking to
open up the final frontier by making space travel as safe, simple,
and ubiquitous as flying. This is just one small step on that
path."