NASA announced Monday that Masten Space Systems of Majove, California had won the $1-million dollar Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Level 2 contest; Armadillo Areospace of Rockwall, Texas was the runner-up by three feet winning a $500,000 prize. Both teams flew robotic rockets that had to rise more than 160 feet (49 metres), stay aloft for at least 180 seconds while travelling to a rocky landing pad, and then fly back to the starting point. One team, Unreasonable Rocket, did not complete the requirements to qualify for prize money.
Armadillo and Masten will be awarded a total of $1.65 million at a Washington ceremony on Thursday, NASA said. The ceremony will close out the innovative three-year-old, $2 million Lunar Lander Challenge program, writes Alan Boyle for MSNBC in a detailed article.
NASA is now looking for new prize goals to serve as an innovation incentive to spur development of technology by space entrepreneurs. Here is the X-Prize Foundation press release.
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