HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico – The rocketeers at Armadillo Aerospace, thwarted by engine problems and other mechanical failures, left this year's X Prize Cup empty-handed after their spacecraft burst into flames on ignition Sunday.
Over the
two days during a Holloman Air and Space Expo, attempts at snaring the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge's $350,000
purse with their design were fraught with technical snags. At one point
on Saturday, they were within seconds of winning the money – only to have the
multi-legged vehicle self-abort and tip over on landing.
An attempt
on Sunday to hop from launch and landing pads ended with the MOD craft bursting
in flames shortly after engine ignition.
Armadillo
Aerospace is led by computer gaming guru, John Carmack. This is the team's second attempt at the challenge in New Mexico, they were the only entrant in last year's event, which they also lost.
"From the
field, we heard a little bit of a boom and there was a hard start on the engine
of some type," said Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
the X Prize Foundation. A pre-scripted scenario of dealing with the failure was
put into action.
Bad day
Pete
Worden, a Lunar Lander Challenge judge – and director of NASA's Ames Research Center, told SPACE.com that the engine
blew up, with the rocket's engine chamber tossing out pieces onto the pad.
"It's over
for them for this X Prize Cup," Worden said. But he added: "I do think they are
getting there...it's a robust design. I think they'll make it. Once again, it
proves that rocket science is hard."
"Number one
is not to have any injuries or fatalities when you're dealing with rockets. So
from a safety perspective, everything went by the books," said Brett Alexander, Executive Director of Space Prizes
and the X Prize Cup.
Alexander
relayed a comment from John Carmack, leader of the Armadillo team: "Today is
officially a bad day when it comes to our vehicle."
Carmack was
not immediately available for direct comment, but Alexander relayed that the
Armadillo head rocketeer has selected not to attempt another flight late
tonight. "He made the call not to do that...he's elected not to go forward."
The last
attempt to win the $350,000 Level 1 prize on Sunday ended when the MOD vehicle
had an engine fire, with pieces coming off, including disconnected cabling.
Clearly, there was a fire on the pad that burned for a while – but then went
out. The Armadillo team called a safety emergency, requesting fire truck
assistance, Alexander said.
Still on
the table: $2 million
Over the
two days of rocket shots, Carmack and his team had six flight attempts, two
very successful flights, a third one that burned for 83 seconds even with a
crack in its combustion chamber.
Level 1
requires a rocket to take off from a designated launch area, rocket up to 150
feet (50 meters) altitude, and then hover for 90 seconds while landing
precisely on a landing pad nearly 330 feet (100 meters) away. The flight must
then be repeated in reverse - and both flights, along with all of the necessary
preparation for each, must take place within a two and a half hour period.
The more
difficult Level 2 requires the rocket to hover for twice as long before landing
precisely on a simulated lunar surface, packed with craters and boulders to
mimic actual lunar terrain. The hover times are calculated so that the Level 2
mission closely simulates the power needed to perform a real lunar mission.
"I would
expect that next year there will be more than one team competing, but I don't
know. I do know now that all $2 million is still on the table. So there's an
incentive for those that are still pushing...and an incentive for us to hold the
Cup and have a great event," Alexander explained at a post-Lunar Lander
Challenge press briefing.
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