So close…

Mod in flight on Sat PM

Armadillo came seven seconds and a few meters, it appears, from winning the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Level 1 competition Saturday afternoon at Holloman AFB, NM. The first leg of the flight was flawless, as Mod rose up, translated, and landed on the other pad without incident. After some delays preparing the vehicle for the return flight (a technical issue during propellant loading and pressurization), Mod rose up for the return trip. The vehicle got back to the home pad quickly and hovered over it to build up its flight time to 90 seconds. However, the vehicle appeared to land seven seconds early and tipped over, perhaps because it came down on the edge of or off the pad. The reason for the incident isn’t clear right now, but it may be linked to a loss of visibility caused by kicking up huge clouds of dust during the final hover phase. Also unknown is any damage mod may have sustained.

Armadillo has two more chances, Sunday morning and afternoon, to win the Level 1 prize; if they are able to fly and win the Level 1 prize Sunday morning they can still try for Level 2 in the afternoon.

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