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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Masten Successfully Tests Space Vehicle

Masten Space Systems qualified to win the $150,000 second-place prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge by completing two successful flights of its Xombie rocket. On Oct. 7, the vehicle went 50 meters in the air and stayed aloft for more than 90 seconds before landing on a second pad at the Masten test site at the Mojave Air & Space Port. The Xombie vehicle is powered by isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen propellant. The company will test a second vehicle later this month in which the craft must become airborne and then land on a simulated lunar surface with craters and boulders. The Lunar Lander Challenge is presented by the X Prize Foundation to spur private companies to design rockets and vehicles that can land on the moon. Mark R. Madler

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