Armadillo Update

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Swampcat

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<p>If I hadn't been behind in my arocket list reading I would have posted this earlier...</p><p><strong><font color="#339966">Armadillo News Archive April 2, 2008</font></strong></p><p>This is a very interesting page of information from&nbsp;John Carmack concerning his work on various projects and his views on several of his "competitors" in the private space field.</p><p>His planned suborbital spacecraft, the "6-pack",&nbsp;is of particular interest.</p><p><br /><img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/7/14/c7484525-e970-427e-ae2c-075b6ac2098a.Medium.jpg" alt="" /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>
 
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Kevin_Davis_007

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>If I hadn't been behind in my arocket list reading I would have posted this earlier...Armadillo News Archive April 2, 2008This is a very interesting page of information from&nbsp;John Carmack concerning his work on various projects and his views on several of his "competitors" in the private space field.His planned suborbital spacecraft, the "6-pack",&nbsp;is of particular interest. <br /> Posted by Swampcat</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Nice....&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> http://kevincdavis.net </div>
 
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PistolPete

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>If I hadn't been behind in my arocket list reading I would have posted this earlier...Armadillo News Archive April 2, 2008This is a very interesting page of information from&nbsp;John Carmack concerning his work on various projects and his views on several of his "competitors" in the private space field.His planned suborbital spacecraft, the "6-pack",&nbsp;is of particular interest. <br /> Posted by Swampcat</DIV></p><p>Their rocket powered crane truck was awesome! <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" /> I want one!&nbsp; It was interesting seeing Phil Eaton in the video.&nbsp; I got to talk to him for a little bit at the last X-Prize Cup as well as several others.&nbsp; It's interesting talking to somebody like that and then seeing a video on the internet and suddenly realizing "Hey, I know that guy!"&nbsp; After the X-Prize Cup I feel like I know these guys somewhat. </p><p>Their new rocket engine is way more advanced than their old ablative engines.&nbsp; They've apparently learned a lot.</p><p>If you have $500k you can buy a quad or a modular rocket.&nbsp; Hopefully this will bring in some extra revenue.</p><p>I pretty much have to agree with John's assessment of the current state of the Newspace industry.&nbsp; It's a tortoise and hare kind of situation.&nbsp; Others have produced some cool PowerPoints and Micromedia Shockwave websites, meanwhile Armadillo, XCOR, Scaled, and SpaceDev have actually been <strong>BUILDING STUFF</strong> this is why they will succeed where the others have failed.</p><p>Many people have tried to liken the newspace industry to the PC industry in the late '70s-early '80s.&nbsp; The only problem is that it is way more complex to build a rocket engine in your garage than a computer built from part from Radio Shack.&nbsp; Yet if anybody is even remotely close to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, it is these guys.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>
 
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cosmictraveler

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<p>&nbsp;</p><p><font size="5">It is interesting to see people build something that costs 20 million to do in order to win the 1 million or so X Prize. Why even bother if you go into debt to do something that the NASA has done for years? </font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>It does not require many words to speak the truth. Chief Joseph</p> </div>
 
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Swampcat

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;It is interesting to see people build something that costs 20 million to do in order to win the 1 million or so X Prize. Why even bother if you go into debt to do something that the NASA has done for years? &nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Posted by cosmictraveler</DIV><br /><br />I was going to reply with some words concerning the ignorance of that statement, but&nbsp;it might be construed as an ad hominem so I won't. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /></p><p>BTW, the X Prize award was $10M.</p><p>You want reasons?</p><p>1)&nbsp;To show that it can be done a lot cheaper than NASA.</p><p>2) To show that it can be done without taxpayer's money.</p><p>3) NASA doesn't sell rides.</p><p>4) The challenge.</p><p>5) Publicity.</p><p>6) To get the edge on a contract to supply vehicles for a suborbital tourism company.</p><p>I could probably brainstorm a bunch more reasons, but I doubt they would convince you. You might ask yourself, why do anything that's already been done. Why climb Mt. Everest?&nbsp;That's already been done. Why build your own airplane? Lots of people have already done that.</p><p>Concerning Reason #6, don't forget that following&nbsp;its successful X-Prize suborbital flights, Scaled Composites signed a contract with Virgin Galactic, reportedly worth more than $100M,&nbsp;to provide them with vehicles for their suborbital tourism business. I wouldn't exactly call that going into debt. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>
 
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bpfeifer

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;It is interesting to see people build something that costs 20 million to do in order to win the 1 million or so X Prize. Why even bother if you go into debt to do something that the NASA has done for years? &nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by cosmictraveler</DIV><br /></p><p>John Karmack and Armadillo Aerospace did not go into debt for 20 million dollars to win a $1 million (or $10 million) prize. They began building rockets because they like rockets and wanted to see private spaceflight a reality. They modified their goals to match various prizes because that was the most obvious way to recoup some of their investment. </p><p>This appears to be a very good strategy. Even before Scaled Composites made their final X-Prize flight, they had a contract in hand to build spacecraft for Virgin Galactic. This Contract was worth more than their initial development cost. Likewise, after Armadillo's first failed attempt to claim the Lunar Lander Challenge, they began receiving inquiries about selling hardware to the military, researchers, and others.&nbsp; </p><p>The prize competitions have acted as a means of legitimizing New Space development work, and demonstrating acheivable goals.&nbsp; It gives potential investors and customers a meter stick against which to measure the risks associated with any company's systems.</p><p>Lastly, Armadillo didn't go into debt to fund their development program. John Karmack was able to bankroll the opperation due to his success as a game designer.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Brian J. Pfeifer http://sabletower.wordpress.com<br /> The Dogsoldier Codex http://www.lulu.com/sabletower<br /> </div>
 
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qso1

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<p><font color="#800080">It is interesting to see people build something that costs 20 million to do in order to win the 1 million or so X Prize. Why even bother if you go into debt to do something that the NASA has done for years? Posted by cosmictraveler</font></p><p>The one thing NASA has not ever done is to provide economical commercial human spaceflight. NASAs one attempt at this resulted in the shuttle. In time, this will probably be seen as a necessary first step before private enterprise was successfully able to open the door to low orbit. Assuming of course, they can do this.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>
 
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Swampcat

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<p>Here is some long awaited info on Armadillo Aerospace's involvement with the Rocket Racing League. Lots of photos and video of a series of test flights at the Oklahoma Spaceport.</p><p>Enjoy!</p><p><br /><img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/4/13/f4fb3ce0-3e62-48db-9d13-dcb6a88ecbb3.Medium.jpg" alt="" /></p><p>Edited to fix link.&nbsp;<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-innocent.gif" border="0" alt="Innocent" title="Innocent" />&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>
 
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Swampcat

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<p>While I was in Detroit, John Carmack posted a new archive page on AA's website. I discovered the link while catching up on my aRocket list reading.</p><p><font color="#990099"><strong>Dec. 12 News Archive</strong></font></p><p>Also, the link below is to video of Mr. Carmack speaking at the NASA press conference where he was awarded the check for AA winning the Level 1 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Prize.</p><p><font color="#990099"><strong>John Carmack (Armadillo Aerospace) at NASA HQ</strong></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>
 
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cosmictraveler

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<p><font size="5">"I was going to reply with some words concerning the ignorance of that statement, but&nbsp;it might be construed as an ad hominem so I won't. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /> " </font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font size="5">I'm big enough to take whatever you can throw my way.</font></p><font size="5"><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"BTW, the X Prize award was $10M."</p><p>So, it still cost twice as much to build his device as he could have won.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You want reasons?</p><p>1)&nbsp;To show that it can be done a lot cheaper than NASA.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So far that isn't a fact. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>2) To show that it can be done without taxpayer's money.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Anything can be done without taxpayers money if there's a profit to be made and it isn't dangerous.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>3) NASA doesn't sell rides.</p><p>&nbsp;Oh really, why is it I've seen over 6 people pay for trips&nbsp; up to the ISS. Those were regular people that were very rich. I thought the ISS was for scienyific use only, not a hotel for the wealthy.</p></font> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>It does not require many words to speak the truth. Chief Joseph</p> </div>
 
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ThereIWas2

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NASA didn't sell those rides;&nbsp; the Russians did.&nbsp; NASA has nothing to do with it.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><span class="postbody"><span style="font-style:italic"><br /></span></span></p> </div>
 
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cosmictraveler

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>NASA didn't sell those rides;&nbsp; the Russians did.&nbsp; NASA has nothing to do with it. <br />Posted by ThereIWas2</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font size="5">Let's see, the ISS was built by NASA and others so that makes NASA having to give the OK for anyone going there. If not then they should since they were the primary builders of the ISS.</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>It does not require many words to speak the truth. Chief Joseph</p> </div>
 
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PistolPete

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Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;Let's see, the ISS was built by NASA and others so that makes NASA having to give the OK for anyone going there. If not then they should since they were the primary builders of the ISS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by cosmictraveler</DIV><br />Yes, but IIRC, those space tourists must stay in the Russian segment lest they break one of NASA's wonderful toys. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>
 
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Swampcat

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>"I was going to reply with some words concerning the ignorance of that statement, but&nbsp;it might be construed as an ad hominem so I won't. " &nbsp;I'm big enough to take whatever you can throw my way.</DIV></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">Ah, but you're apparently too ignorant of the facts to make it worth the effort.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'> "BTW, the X Prize award was $10M."So, it still cost twice as much to build his device as he could have won.</DIV></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">Irrelevant.&nbsp;</span></p><p>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>You want reasons?1)&nbsp;To show that it can be done a lot cheaper than NASA.&nbsp;So far that isn't a fact.</DIV></p><p><span style="font-size:48px" class="Apple-style-span">"So far" isn't as important as what will come.</span></p><p>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>2) To show that it can be done without taxpayer's money.&nbsp;Anything can be done without taxpayers money if there's a profit to be made and it isn't dangerous.</DIV></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">So? What's your point?&nbsp;</span></p><p>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'> 3) NASA doesn't sell rides.&nbsp;Oh really, why is it I've seen over 6 people pay for trips&nbsp; up to the ISS. Those were regular people that were very rich. I thought the ISS was for scienyific use only, not a hotel for the wealthy. <br /> Posted by cosmictraveler</DIV></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">Obviously, you thought wrong. You don't even know who sold those rides.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">Flail away, cosmictraveler. I'm sure John Carmack and all the other alt.space entrepreneurs won't pay any attention to you. They're too busy creating the future of human spaceflight to listen to your anachronistic, large font rantings.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span">Have a nice day&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large" class="Apple-style-span"><img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-kiss.gif" border="0" alt="Kiss" title="Kiss" />&nbsp;.</span></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>
 
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InnyBinny

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I mean it's pretty obvious - the $20m they spend to get the $10m prize will land them publicity and $100m contracts in the space tourism industry. So they kind of do make a profit off of it. Why the hell would <em>capitalist</em>&nbsp;companies do it if they know they're going to end up in debt lol?
 
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Swampcat

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LUNAR LANDER QUALIFIES FOR PRIZE

Armadillo Aerospace qualified to win a million dollars of NASA's money today by accomplishing a rocket-powered round trip modeled after a moon landing. The team's remote-controlled Scorpius rocket (formerly known as the Super Mod) blasted off from its Texas launch pad, rose into the sky and floated over to set down on a mock moon landing pad. After refueling, Scorpius blasted off again for what one observer called a "perfect flight" back to the original launch pad.

The judges confirmed that Armadillo satisfied all the contest requirements. Scorpius made pinpoint landings within a meter of each landing pad's center target, according to William Pomerantz, the director of space prizes for the X Prize Foundation.

armadilloscorpius.jpg

Images of the event can be seen here.

Video still to come.
 
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Swampcat

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From SDC:

Team Armadillo Succeeds in Mock Moon Landing Challenge

A commercial vehicle successfully completed a mock lunar landing Saturday, qualifying its team to win a $1 million prize offered for NASA's Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.

The rocket-powered craft, built by Armadillo Aerospace, ascended 50 meters (164 feet) into the air, flew over to land on a simulated rocky lunar surface 50 meters (164 feet) away, and then rose and flew back to land where it started. The flight included a requirement of at least 180 seconds of flying time.
 
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Swampcat

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Videos:

Flight #1
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsVbl34HIws[/youtube]


Flight #2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuJ_jASXMVY[/youtube]
 
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Swampcat

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John Carmack has posted an update on the Armadillo website with lots of play-by-play of Saturday's event from his perspective.
 
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Swampcat

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:lol:

Thanks for that, Boris. I had seen a still of the hot dogs on wires, but hadn't seen the video.
 
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