Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded in the year 2000, and was incorporated on January 1, 2001. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Mesquite is a suburb of Dallas, Texas, located in Dallas County and Kaufman County, Texas. ... John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is a widely recognized figure in the video game industry. ... Look up aerospace in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Look up aerospace in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A startup company is a company with a limited operating history. ... Mesquite is a suburb of Dallas, Texas, located in Dallas County and Kaufman County, Texas. ... A sub-orbital spaceflight (or sub-orbital flight) is a spaceflight that does not involve putting a vehicle into orbit. ... The Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station. ... The curvature of the Earth seen from orbit would be one of the main attractions for tourists paying to go into space Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of space travel by individuals for the purpose of personal pleasure. ... An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight) in the general sense is a spaceflight where the trajectory of a spacecraft reaches the height of, and through having an appropriate velocity enters into, orbit around an astronomical body. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Research and development principles

Armadillo's 'quad' Pixel hovering under rocket power during tethered testing

The company places a strong emphasis on a rapid build and test cycle. Armadillo Aerospace has designed and built a number of different vehicles using a variety of propellants. Each design has several features in common. One is the use of modern computer technologies and electronics to simplify rocket control and reduce development costs. Another is the use of liquid propellants and VTOL to facilitate short launch-to-launch times. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (683 × 1024 pixel, file size: 85 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) John Carmack released under gnu license Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (683 × 1024 pixel, file size: 85 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) John Carmack released under gnu license Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... The Hawker Harrier, one of the famous examples of a plane with VTOL capability. ...

X-Prize competition

The company was a competitor for the Ansari X-Prize. Armadillo's X-Prize vehicle was unorthodox among modern rockets in that instead of using stabilization fins, which complicate the design and increase drag, Armadillo used an aerodynamically unstable design, where the computer controlled jet vanes based on feedback from fibre optic gyroscopes. Armadillo has also stated a preference for simplicity and reliability over performance, which was evident in its choice of hydrogen peroxide (50 % concentration in water) and methanol as a mixed monopropellant for the vehicle. A monopropellant-based engine requires only a single tank, as well as greatly simplified plumbing and other hardware. Since the completion of the X-Prize, however, they have opted to switch to liquid oxygen because of difficulties with peroxide catalysts and the lack of availability of high-concentration peroxide in the United States for small companies. The X prize logo shows a stylised letter X representing a spacecraft trajectory and containing a starfield. ... A fibre optic gyroscope (FOG) contains a coil with a long (up to 5 km) wound optical fiber (3). ... Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a very pale blue liquid which appears colourless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naptha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol (ethyl alcohol). ... A (usually liquid) rocket propellant that can be used by itself, without the need for a second component. ...

In June 2004, Armadillo successfully demonstrated a computer-controlled Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) flight of its prototype vehicle, becoming the third unmanned rocket in history to have done so, after the McDonnell Douglas DC-X and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) Reusable Vehicle Test (RVT). 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: June 2004 in sports Deaths in June • 28 Anthony Buckeridge • 26 Naomi Shemer • 26 Yash Johar • 22 Bob Bemer • 22 Thomas Gold • 22 Francisco Ortiz Franco • 16 Thanom Kittikachorn • 10 Ray Charles • 5 Ronald Reagan... The Hawker Harrier, one of the famous examples of a plane with VTOL capability. ... The Delta Clipper Advanced The McDonnell Douglas DC-X, better known as the Delta Clipper, was an unmanned prototype of a reusable single stage to orbit launch vehicle developed in conjunction with NASA and the DOD SDIO from 1991 to 1993. ... The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japans aerospace agency. ...

Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2006

Pixel attempting level 1- white tanks are insulated and contain liquid oxygen, grey tanks contain ethanol

Armadillo 2006 mission patch

Armadillo Aerospace competed in the 2006 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup. Armadillo Aerospace was the only competitor in the Lunar Lander Challenge. The company took two similar vehicles, Pixel and Texel, to the event. The vehicles narrowly failed to win the Level 1 prize, after making three dramatic attempts totalling over 5 minutes in the air^[1], finally crashing out on the final attempt. Persistent landing problems were the main cause of failure, with the undercarriage breaking several times, and landing slightly off the pad on one occasion due to guidance issues. These flights were a highlight of the Wirefly X-prize cup. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 59 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Armadillo aerospace (John Carmack permitted release) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 59 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Armadillo aerospace (John Carmack permitted release) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 208 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) John Carmck released for use under a GNU license. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 208 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) John Carmck released for use under a GNU license. ... The Wirefly X PRIZE logo combines a stylized letter X reminiscent of a space trajectory with stark, bold text. ... The Wirefly X PRIZE logo combines a stylized letter X reminiscent of a space trajectory with stark, bold text. ...

Quad vehicle

The specification for Pixel/Texel for level 1^[2]:

• Width: ~75 inches^[3]
• Height: ~75 inches
• Dry weight: 650 pounds
• Gross Lift Off Weight (GLOW): ~1500 pounds (360 pounds ethanol, ~500 LOX)
• Payload: 55 pounds
• Engines: 1 (+ 4 cold gas attitude jets)
• Thrust (sl): ~3000 pounds

Engine (XPC-06): Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. ... Lox can stand for any of several things: Lox (salmon) - a type of salmon produce LOx (oxidizer) - liquid oxygen used as oxidizer in aerospace The Lox - was a Yonkers, NY-based rap trio This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

• thrust: ~3000 pounds (throttleable to 25%)
• chamber pressure: 300 psi
• Nozzle area ratio: 2:1
• Isp (sl): ~140-~200 seconds (low-high throttle)
• length: 20 inches
• diameter: 8 inches
• chamber: carbon fiber reinforced graphite built by Cesaroni aerospace
• Burn time: >180 seconds

(The level 2 specification is exactly the same, but with approximately double the propellant mass.)

The quad vehicle design is pressure fed in blow down mode from an initial pressure of 320 psi for level 1 (400 psi level 2). The roll thrusters are cross-fed by gas drawn from ullage space of the opposite tank. The vehicle is able to transfer propellant through connecting pipes between opposite tanks by controlling ullage pressures with the thrusters; this helps it balance, minimizing gas use. The main engine has two-axis thrust vectoring. The vehicle is fully computer controlled; with guidance from GPS and fiber optic gyros.

Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2007

Armadillo Aerospace are entered into the 2007 Lunar Lander Challenge event.

During testing one of the two Quad vehicles (named Texel) crashed in tethered flight after a guidance issue caused the vehicle to rapidly gain altitude until 3 separate flight termination procedures were activated at approximately 20-30 feet. The vehicle fell, and the impact broke open one of the alcohol tanks and a large fireball engulfed the vehicle.^[4] The vehicle is irreparably damaged, and only its sister Pixel will compete in the upcoming event.The current plan is to have the first module (of the next generation modular design) compete at level 1, and have Pixel compete at level 2 challenge. ^[5]

Staff and funding

Widget

Armadillo is headed and has been largely funded by John Carmack, a developer of computer games including the Doom and Quake series. All of its employees (including Carmack) have other, full-time jobs and contribute their efforts twice weekly to Armadillo on a voluntary basis. Armadillo has a relatively small budget and is not supported by aerospace companies or agencies like NASA, ESA, or Boeing. Armadillo Aerospace has publicly declared itself fully self-funded.[4] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is a widely recognized figure in the video game industry. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Doom (or DOOM)[1] is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is a landmark title in the first-person shooter genre. ... Logo for Quake 4. ... This article is about the American space agency. ... Paris headquarters The ESA control room in Darmstadt, Germany The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1974, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member states. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Boeing. ...

In February 2006, Carmack stated that the program so far had cost slightly over $2 million.[5] Even by the standards of X-Prize candidates, this is a low budget. Scaled Composites is estimated to have spent $25 million on its SpaceShipOne development program. Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States and is headed by aircraft designer Burt Rutan. ... SpaceShipOne is small, having a three-person cabin and short but wide wings. ...

On August 8, 2006, Armadillo Aerospace announced that it had reached a sponsorship deal with NVIDIA. While details were sparse, John Carmack said, "There is a chance at this point that I may have written the last personal check I need to for Armadillo."[6] NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) (pronounced ) is an American corporation specializing in the manufacture of GPU technologies for video cards, graphics cards, workstations, desktop computers, handhelds and more. ...

The company has a mascot armadillo named Widget. Families Pampatheriidae (prehistoric) Glyptodontidae (prehistoric) Dasypodidae Armadillos are small placental mammals, known for having a bony armor shell. ...

Future research

Carmack has stated in his monthly reports and in forum posts that he expects his path to an orbital vehicle to include modular rockets similar to OTRAG technology. Lutz Kayser, the founding engineer of OTRAG, visited Armadillo in May, 2006 and loaned Carmack some of their original research hardware. OTRAG (German: Orbital Transport und Raketen AG, or Orbital Transport and Rockets, Inc. ...

"I have been corresponding with Lutz for a few months now, and I have learned quite a few things. I seriously considered an OTRAG style massive-cluster-of-cheap-modules orbital design back when we had 98% peroxide (assumed to be a biprop with kerosene), and I have always considered it one of the viable routes to significant reduction in orbital launch costs. After really going over the trades and details with Lutz, I am quite convinced that this is the lowest development cost route to significant orbital capability. Eventually, reusable stages will take over, but I actually think that we can make it all the way to orbit on our current budget by following this path. The individual modules are less complicated than our current vehicles, and I am becoming more and more fond of high production methods over hand crafter prototypes." -- June 2006 Armadillo Aerospace Update^[6]

References

See also

• List of private spaceflight companies - A compiled list of private spaceflight companies
• Alt.space
• Space Fellowship - Hosts the official Armadillo Aerospace Forum

v • d • e Space tourism
Major private companies	Bigelow Aerospace · Blue Origin · EADS Astrium · Space Adventures · Scaled Composites · The Spaceship Company · Virgin Galactic
Organizations	LiftPort Group · Personal Spaceflight Federation · Space Tourism Society · Association of Autonomous Astronauts
Successful spacecraft	SpaceShipOne · Genesis I · Genesis II
Living in space	Space station · Space habitat · Space colonization · Commercialization of space
Historical events	First Tourists · Ansari X Prize

A list of private companies offering or planning manned spaceflights for space tourism. ... The term alt. ... The Space Fellowship is a web based network to push the development of the aerospace industry by providing the latest aerospace news, events and a section to share information about the latest developments to aerospace specialists working in this industry, students and the industries supporters. ... The curvature of the Earth seen from orbit would be one of the main attractions for tourists paying to go into space Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of space travel by individuals for the purpose of personal pleasure. ... A list of private companies offering or planning manned spaceflights for space tourism. ... Bigelow Aerospace is a North Las Vegas, Nevada space technology startup company that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. ... Blue Origin is a privately-funded aerospace company initially focused on sub-orbital spaceflight founded in 2000. ... Mock-up of the vehicle at Paris Air Show 2007 The EADS Astrium Space Tourism Project, also called EADS Astrium TBN according to some sources[1], has been officially unveiled in Paris by EADS Astrium, the space subsidiary of the French-German consortium EADS, on June 13, 2007. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States and is headed by aircraft designer Burt Rutan. ... The Spaceship Company is a spacecraft manufacturing company formed by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson, jointly owned by Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, which will own the techology created by Scaled for Virgin Galctics Virgin SpaceShip program. ... Virgin Galactic is a company within Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group, which plans to offer sub-orbital spaceflights and later orbital spaceflights to the paying public. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x993, 1709 KB) Summary Uploaded by Johntex NASA Center: Johnson Space Center Image # : 51A-104-049 Date : 11/14/1984 Title Satellites For Sale Full Description Astronaut Dale A. Gardner, having just completed the major portion of his second extravehicular activity... LiftPort Group is a privately-held Washington State corporation with headquarters in Bremerton, Washington. ... The Personal Spaceflight Federation is a private spaceflight industry group. ... The Space Tourism Society (STS) is a new not-for-profit society specifically focused on space tourism based in USA. STS have chapters in Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom. ... AAA logo The Association of Autonomous Astronauts is a world-wide network of community based groups dedicated to building their own spaceships. ... Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOnes patch The Scaled Composites Model 316 SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched suborbital spaceplane that uses a hybrid rocket motor. ... Genesis I is an experimental space habitat designed and built by the private American firm Bigelow Aerospace and launched in 2006. ... Genesis II is the second experimental space habitat designed and built by the private American firm Bigelow Aerospace. ... The International Space Station in 2007 A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. ... A pair of ONeill cylinders Interior of a Torus (doughnut-shaped) station A space habitat, also called space colony or orbital colony, is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility. ... Artists conception of a space habitat called the Stanford torus, by Don Davis Space colonization (also called space settlement, space humanization, space habitation, etc. ... Commercialization of space is the use of outer space for the purpose of generating a profit, either by a corporation or state. ... The curvature of the Earth seen from orbit would be one of the main attractions for tourists paying to go into space Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of space travel by individuals for the purpose of personal pleasure. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Armadillo Aerospace homepage
• Project update with NVIDIA sponsorship information
• Project update and video of successful VTOL test flight
• Project update on vehicle loss
• Project update discussing intent to compete in lunar lander Centennial Challenge (March 1, 2006)
• Official Armadillo Aerospace Forum