Two Successful Flights In Two Hours Meet Level 1 Criteria
Masten Space Systems successfully
qualified for a $150,000 prize in NASA's Northrop Grumman Lunar
Lander Challenge Wednesday by flying a rocket-powered vehicle twice
in two hours between a pair of landing pads. Masten's
vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing vehicle, known as "Xombie," met
the requirements of Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge by
ascending to a height of 50 meters, translating horizontally to a
landing pad 50 meters away, landing safely on a concrete pad after
90 seconds of flight time, and then repeating the flight.
The flights took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave,
California, where Masten Space Systems' facilities are based.
Today's successful flights by Masten, along with successful flights
last month by Armadillo Aerospace, mean that it is certain NASA
will be giving away at least two checks worth a total of at least
$1.15 million this year. Later this month, Masten is also
scheduled to compete for Level 2, which requires 180 seconds of
flight time rather than 90 seconds.
David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems, stated, "The Xombie's
flights have established Masten Space Systems as a serious
competitor. This is not just good for Masten, but good news
for the commercial spaceflight industry. It shows that we
have grown to the point that many teams now have the skills to
build and fly successful rockets."
Brett Alexander, President of the
Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, "Congratulations to
Masten Space Systems, NASA, Northrop Grumman, and the X PRIZE
Foundation for a job well done. The Lunar Lander Challenge is
generating a tremendous return on NASA's investment, helping to
build the workforce, technologies, and vehicles useful to both NASA
and the commercial spaceflight sector."
Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which
manages the prize on behalf of NASA's Centennial Challenges
program, said, "Congratulations to Dave Masten and his team on
successfully completing Level-1 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar
Lander Challenge. What they accomplished with 6 people is
outstanding. These young entrepreneurial companies are the future
Apple and Dells of the space industry, building the propulsion that
will launch the public into space. They are also the industry
cluster that will give NASA robust future suppliers and
capability."
Masten's flights complement the success of the Armadillo
Aerospace team, led by id Software founder John Carmack, which
qualified in September for the $1 million first place prize for
Level 2 of the Lunar Lander Challenge. Before the closing of
this year's competition window on October 31st, Masten Space
Systems will attempt Level 2 of the competition, along with two
additional competitors, Unreasonable Rocket and BonNova, who will
compete for both levels.
Each level of the Lunar Lander Challenge includes both first and
second place prizes, with the second place prize for Level 1 worth
$150,000, and the two prizes for Level 2 worth $1 million and
$500,000. In 2008, Armadillo Aerospace claimed the first
prize for Level 1, worth $350,000.