X Prize Foundation
Announces Competitors for Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander
Challenge
(21 June 2007) A real rocket race is
on the horizon with the return of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge
(NG-LLC) - the centerpiece of the Wirefly X Prize Cup and Holloman Air and
Space Expo.
In the Challenge's second year, the number of teams
competing for the US$ 2 million purse has increased from four teams to nine.
The NG-LLC, sponsored by NASA's Centennial Challenges Program, is designed to
accelerate commercial development of technology that can ferry cargo and humans
between the moon's surface and lunar orbit.
"We are excited by the
number of teams competing this year and their overall level of sophistication,"
said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation. "We
fully expect to award the US$ 2 million purse this year in what will prove to
be an exhilarating showdown between a number of very qualified
teams."
The 2007 Wirefly X Prize Cup and Holloman Air and Space Expo
will be held October 27-28 at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM.
Specific times for the NG-LLC have yet to be announced. Attendance at this
year's expanded event is expected to reach upwards of 80,000.
Teams
competing in the two-level NG-LLC include:
Acuity Technologies, Menlo
Park, CA: The Acuity Technologies team is led by Robert Clark, who founded the
company in 1992. The team, which has previously designed Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles for the Department of Defense, hopes that the light weight of their
XHopper will give them an advantage in the Challenge.
Armadillo
Aerospace, Mesquite, TX: As the only team to fly a vehicle in last year's
challenge, Armadillo may have a leg up on the competition. After their
successful test flight on June 4, this team of volunteers is anxious to show
what they can do at the 2007 Wirefly X Prize Cup. They are led by John Carmack,
founder of id Software.
BonNova, Tarzana, CA: Allen Newcomb, an engineer
who was part of the team that won the Ansari X Prize, helms this group. The
team, which includes both a fiction author and an IndyCar crew member, founded
the company for the sole purpose of winning the NG-LLC.
Masten Space
Systems, Mojave, CA: With a team comprised almost entirely from Silicon Valley
internet technology veterans, Masten Space Systems is currently working on
launching tethered flights. The company, helmed by David Masten, is currently
selling "SodaSats" - opportunities to launch and recover very small payloads -
for only US$ 99.
Micro-Space, Denver, CO: The Micro-Space team, along
with Armadillo Aerospace, is one of two Ansari X Prize teams to compete in the
NG-LLC. Many of the components of Micro-Space's NG-LLC vehicle have already
been successfully flown as components of other high-powered
rockets.
Paragon Labs, Denver, CO: This team is comprised of 16 industry
experts from all of the necessary subsystem disciplines and led by Kevin Sagis,
founder of Paragon. The team's vehicle is called Volkon.
SpeedUp,
Laramie and Chugwater, WY: SpeedUp is the only team using a monopropellant
engine for the Challenge. They are led by Robert Steinke, a former employee of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and have long-term plans to sell low altitude rocket
rides to the general public.
Unreasonable Rocket, Solana Beach, CA: Most
of the work from this small team has been done by the father-son pair of Paul
T. Breed and Paul A. Breed. The members of Unreasonable Rocket are determined
to show that a small, family team can compete in serious rocketry, and are
building their vehicles in a garage for under US$ 200K.
The ninth team
has requested to remain confidential. Their confidentiality period ends 60 days
before the start of the competition at which time the X Prize Foundation can
publicly announce the name of the team.
About The Wirefly X Prize Cup
and Holloman Air and Space Expo
The Wirefly X Prize Cup is an annual
two-day air and space exposition. This year the Cup will be held in conjunction
with Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM to create the first ever Air
& Space Expo with "live" fire / fly demonstrations and competitions. This
event is free and open to the public and will be held on October 27th and 28th
from 10am to 5pm. Launch and air show demonstrations will feature Rocket Racing
League's X-Racer, as well as the return of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander
Challenge - a two-level, US$ 2 million competition requiring a vehicle to
simulate trips between the moon's surface and lunar orbit. Nine teams are
currently registered for this year's competition, with NASA funding the prizes
through its Centennial Challenges program. Air Force demos include the F-22,
F-16 and F-117 aircraft. Additionally, visitors can tour nearly 30 acres of
space and rocket exhibits as well as Air Force aircraft.
About The X
Prize Foundation
The X Prize Foundation is an educational non-profit
prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the
benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the X Prize Foundation captured world
headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer
Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's
first private vehicle to space twice in two weeks to win the US$ 10 million
Ansari X Prize. The Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space
exploration to offer new prizes for breakthroughs in the life sciences, energy
and the environment, education and global entrepreneurship. In October of 2006,
the X Prize Foundation announced the US$ 10 million Archon X Prize for
genomics, which will reward the first private effort to map 100 human genomes
in 10 days ushering in a new era of personalised preventative
medicine.
(source: X Prize Foundation)