Oct 27 2008
From The Space Library
NASA announced that Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwell, Texas, had won a US$350,000 prize during the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sponsored by NASA’s Centennial Challenges program and managed by the X Prize Foundation, the Lunar Lander Challenge was a two-level competition to foster innovation in commercial space technology. Armadillo had won the first level with a vehicle demonstrating some of the technologies that a lunar lander would require to transport payloads or astronauts between lunar orbit and the lunar surface. Armadillo’s vehicle had risen to a height of 50 meters (164.04 feet); traveled to a landing pad 100 meters (328.08 feet) away, while staying in the air for at least 90 seconds; landed; and later repeated the flight. Armadillo’s attempt at Level Two, which was more challenging, had not succeeded, leaving US$1.65 million in unawarded prize money that NASA would make available for future competitions. In the past, the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge had been a key event at the X Prize Cup; however, the X Prize Foundation had dramatically scaled back X Prize Cup events in 2008, because of budgetary constraints and scheduling conflicts.
NASA, “NASA $350,000 Prize Goes to Armadillo Aerospace in Lunar Challenge,” new release 08-271, 27 October 2008; http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-271_Armadillo_Challenge.html (accessed 8 August 2011); Jose L. Medina, “X Prize Cup Shrinks,” Las Cruces Sun News (NM), 17 October 2008.
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