$350k lunar lander prize awarded.Armadillo Aerospace Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. , Rockwall, TX, earned $350,000 in NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. prize money during the Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. Lunar Lander Challenge The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (often called simply the Lunar Lander Challenge) is a $2 million prize program funded by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. The Challenge offers a series of prizes for the teams that launch a VTVL rocket that achieves the total delta-v in Las Cruses, NM. The challenge is a two-level, $2 million competition designed to accelerate commercial space technology and is sponsored by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. After Armadillo's $350,000 first place win for Level One this year, $1.65 million remains as available prize money for future competitions. Armadillo's winning vehicle successfully demonstrated some of the technologies needed for a lunar lander capable of ferrying payloads or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the lunar surface. During the first day of competition at Las Cruces International Airport Located 8 miles west of the city center of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on a Mesa overlooking the Mesilla Valley is the Las Cruces International Airport (IATA: LRU, ICAO: KLRU). on Oct. 24 the vehicle rose to a height of 50 meters, translated to a landing pad 100 meters away while staying aloft for at least 90 seconds, landed safely, and later repeated the flight. Armadillo armadillo (är'mədĭl`ō), New World armored mammal of the order Edentata, a group that also includes the sloth and the anteater, characterized by peglike teeth without roots or enamel. attempted to claim the $1 million first place prize for Level 2 on Oct. 25, with a larger vehicle designed to stay aloft for twice as long and land on simulated lunar terrain with craters and rocks, but it was not successful. The $350,000 prize won by Armadillo represents the largest prize yet awarded under NASA's Centennial Challenge program. The Armadillo team will be recognized for their achievement at a ceremony in Washington. Centennial Challenges is NASA's prize program to promote technical innovation through competitions open to all Americans. The Lunar Lander Challenge is one of seven current competitions designed to tap the nation's ingenuity in support of NASA's goals. The program is managed by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program Office. |
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