Digital Sprocket

This is the first installment of a series on former X Prize teams. Although Burt Rutan claimed the prize in October 2004, many of the teams founded to chase after it are still in business, and building hardware. With the X Prize no longer available, what strategies are they undertaking in their dual quest for spaceflight and profitability?

One of my favorite teams from the beginning of the X Prize is John Carmack’s Armadillo Aerospace. Bankrolled by Carmack’s success creating such games as Doom and Quake, this team of volunteers has been building and testing hardware right from the start. They are wedded to neither one fuel/oxidizer combination, nor attitude control method. They try everything, to see what works best for their current vehicle.

Like the Wright brothers, their flight tests focus on control rather than power. They run every vehicle through tethered flight tests that may only fly a few feet above the ground, but they focus on attitude and roll control. Only after many successful (and failed) tethered tests do they take their vehicles to the open field.

After Scaled Composites bagged the X Prize, they returned to their earlier plans for a single passenger vehicle, and preparing demonstrations for the first Countdown to the X Prize Cup. In March 2006, that changed once more as a new prize became available. The Lunar Lander Challenge is almost tailor made for their current flight vehicle. The contest will take place at the X Prize Cup in October, and the Prize purse is provided by NASA’s Centennial Challenge program.

The competition consists of two levels. For level 1, a rocket must launch to an altitude of 50 meters, and hover for 90 seconds before landing at a designated site 100 meters from the launch pad. After refueling, the vehicle makes the same flight in reverse. The first prize for achieving this goal is $350,000. The level 2 competition increases the hover time to 180 seconds and the landing site is a simulated uneven rocky terrain. The first prize for this more difficult challenge is a hefty $1.25 million.

In August, Armadillo Aerospace secured sponsorship from NVIDIA to carry the project through the first X Prize Cup. If they can win both competitions, which Carmack believes is possible, they expect to turn their team of volunteers into paid staff. This will allow them to put in the time they need to turn their projects into saleable hardware or possibly services. If they fail to bring home the brass ring, they expect to continue their slow paced operation indefinitely until another opportunity presents itself.

It’s a simple strategy. Current development is sustainable. Winning the Lunar Lander Challenge would provide both funds and recognition that they could convert into a profitable business. In a few short weeks, we’ll know what the future holds for team Armadillo Aerospace.