A privately-built
rocket nicknamed Xombie suffered an apparent engine leak Wednesday that stalled
its attempt to win $150,000 in a NASA contest to fly mock moon landers.
Built by
Masten Space Systems in Mojave, Calif., the Xombie rocket lifted off at the Mojave
Air and Space Port and successfully flew to a nearby
landing pad, but failed to make the required return trip during a flight
for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. A small leak detected in the
rocket's engine chamber after landing was cited as the cause, contest
organizers said.
"There was
some wear that they were unhappy with on their regeneratively-cooled engine,"
said Will Pomerantz, senior director of space
prizes for the X Prize Foundation that manages the challenge for NASA. "It
was something where they did not feel comfortable flying again with the vehicle
in that state."
The Lunar
Lander Challenge is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges program to offer cash
prizes for successful feats of engineering. For the Lunar Lander Challenge,
NASA is offering a total of $2 million in prize money for successful
flight demonstrations of vehicles capable of hopping from one launch pad to
another.
The Masten
team now hopes try again with its Xombie rocket - officially named XA-0.1B - during
one of two more chances in October. The Xombie rocket will have to start the
round trip from scratch, despite making it halfway Wednesday and landing within
8 inches (20 cm) of its target.
"They'll be
on a new clock," Pomerantz told SPACE.com.
The Xombie
rocket's next chance to fly is a two-day window that opens on Oct. 7. The
rocket can make a third round of flights on Oct. 28 and 29, Pomerantz said.
Competition
heats up
In addition
to Masten Space Systems, at least two other teams are competing in the Lunar Lander
Challenge this year. The teams have until Oct. 31 to vie for the Level 1 and
Level 2 prizes. The third team - a father-son duo called Unreasonable Rocket -
is slated to go last at the end of October in Cantil, Calif.
Level 1 of
the competition, which Masten tried to qualify for Wednesday, requires vehicles
to fly for at least 90 seconds and fly a round trip between two different
launch pads. The team Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, won
the $350,000 first prize for Level 1 in October 2008, leaving the $150,000
second prize up for grabs.
Level 2
requires competitors to fly vehicles on a round
trip of at least 180 seconds in duration and land on a simulated lunar surface.
First place awards $1 million, with $500,000 available for the runner-up.
On
Saturday, Armadillo Aerospace successfully qualified for the Level 2
competition with its Scorpius lander that flew in Caddus Mills, Texas, near
Dallas. If another team does not qualify for the Level 2 prize and land more
accurately than Scorpius, Armadillo will take home first prize.
"It is now
guaranteed that we will definitely give away at least $1 million," Pomerantz
said.
Pomerantz said
that since its inception the different teams competing in the Lunar Lander
Challenge have collectively spent between $15 million and $20 million for the
$2 million purse.
If any
prize money is not won during this year's Lunar Lander Challenge, it will be
available during one last competition in 2010 before expiring, he added.
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