Monday, September 21, 2009

Armadillo Aerospace Qualifies For $1M Lunar Lander Prize

Dallas-based Armadillo Aerospace, the rocket firm led by id Software's John Carmack, has successfully qualified for a $1M prize from NASA, part of a competition to design a lunar lander. According to the X Prize Foundation, the group running the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, Armadillo successfully landed its "Scorpius" vehicle twice in two hours between two landing pads. The flights--held at Caddo Mills Municipal Airport--mean that Armadillo will win the $1M, NASA Centennial Challenges Program prize if no other team beats the firm's performance by October 31st. There are two other teams working on their own "lunar lander" vehicles, which will have to beat Armadillo's Scorpius by that deadline.