» Flashback Friday: The Line Forms Here for a Trip to the Moon
09/03/10 from The Launch Pad
There were high hopes for a "space for everyone" era in 1952, and certainly no shortage of people interested in exploring the planets, no matter the danger. The following excerpt includes adventure seekers with amusing motives such as "fu...

» One Year (plus one day) of Moonpies, Rockets and Racing
09/02/10 from The Launch Pad
My one year "X-iversary"! Hard to believe that one year (+1 day*) ago, I was a total X PRIZE n00b. Caution: Moonpies. I already have many fond memories at X PRIZE within my relatively short time here. I warned you all in my very first bl...

» Prize Roundup: MICI Presentations, MoonBots Winners, More X-Hab Finalists, More
09/02/10 from The Launch Pad
@doug_comstock: Congrats to X-Hab proposers Oklahoma St, Univ of Wisc, and Univ of Maryland. Now let the competition begin! http://tinyurl.com/x-hab-selNASA Selects University Finalists for Inflatable Loft Competition - NASA (so you can see...

» And the Winners of the MoonBots Challenge Are.....
09/01/10 from The Launch Pad
1st Place- Landroids 2nd Place- The Shadowed Craters 3rd Place- Moonwalk Landroids Live Challenge Mission We have thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiasm and dedication of all of the teams. We would like to congratulate all of the...

» Armadillo and Masten Earn $475K in NASA CRuSR Funds
08/31/10 from The Launch Pad
Yesterday, NASA announced that it was awarding a total of $475,000 to two of our old friends, Armadillo Aerospace ($225,000) and Masten Space Systems ($250,000). These funds, the first paid out as part of the Commercial Reusable Suborbital ...

» The Competition Isn’t Over Yet: Why Validation Matters
08/31/10 from neXt PRIZE
With the on-track stages behind us and the results of those on-track stages prominently available on the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE website, one might think the winners of this $10M competition are a foregone conclusion. Well,...

» Flying high with Academy Award Winner James Cameron!
08/30/10 from neXt PRIZE
Ever wanted to experience weightlessness? How about strike up a conversation with Oscar® and Golden Globe® winning filmmaker James Cameron? Or what about tapping into that childhood dream of being an astronaut? Well, you can do all three ...

» Prize Roundup: NASA and TopCoder/Yet2/InnoCentive, LaserMotive Copter, Armadillo Office Space, Moon Capital, More
08/30/10 from The Launch Pad
Laser-Powered Helicopter Demo At AUVSI Trade Show - LaserMotive@lasermotive: Update: here's the url for our article in the Unmanned Daily News at the AUVSI trade show. http://bit.ly/ar0XoJ page 12LaserMotive is getting a lot of interest in ...

» Flashback Friday: "The Moon - So Far" in 1958
08/27/10 from The Launch Pad
This week's excerpt is from a 1958 edition of Popular Science. A long read, but super-interesting. This article reflects the sense mystery and curiosity about the Moon at the time, making predictions of active volcanism, "the dark side", an...

» The Competition Isn’t Over Yet: Why Validation Matters
08/26/10 from Progressive Automotive X PRIZE
With the on-track stages behind us and the results of those on-track stages prominently available on the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE website, one might think the winners of this $10M competition are a foregone conclusion. Well,...