Thursday, September 2, 2010

Armadillo to Near-Space with NASA from NM


Armadillo Aerospace, Inc. SuperMOD reusable VTOL rocket during recent demonstration flight. Armadillo has committed to NASA-funded "near-space" suborbital missions from New Mexico's Spaceport America [William Pomerantz/GLXP].

LAS CRUCES, NM - The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has announced that Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwell, Texas, plans to launch three NASA-funded tests of their vertical takeoff and landing rocket technology from Spaceport America this winter. 





"These launches mark an important step in NASA's plan to empower the emerging commercial spaceflight industry to assume a greater role in the nation's space program," said Rick Homans, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. "Spaceport America is the launch pad for this new industry, and Armadillo's decision to launch here affirms our important position."





Armadillo Aerospace is developing new vehicles that can launch small payloads to suborbital “near space”, which NASA defines as altitudes between about 19 and 106 km, and return them safely to earth.

"Armadillo is proud to pioneer reusable rocket technology for the commercial space industry and Spaceport America provides the perfect place for our launches," said Neil Milburn, Vice President of Program Management at Armadillo Aerospace. "We selected Spaceport America because of its geographic advantages, dedicated staff, technical experience, flexibility and its low cost. We need exactly this kind of support to be successful."





Read the Armadillo news release, HERE.

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