Comments on: Another smallsat rocket company enters the fray https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/another-smallsat-rocket-company-enters-the-fray/ Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:02:48 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Trent Castanaveras https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/another-smallsat-rocket-company-enters-the-fray/#comment-1047736 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:02:48 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=51158#comment-1047736 EXOS is the spiritual and material follow-on of the original X-Prize contender Armadillo Aerospace, headed by John Carmack. It’s made up of members of the old team, plus a few new ones.

A good informational wiki: https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Armadillo_Aerospace

All flights shown in the youtube video above are flights of the STIG vehicle; EXOS has yet to fly their descendant version, SARGE. Although designed and built to be reusable, all space shots of the STIG ended in vehicle destruction for various technical reasons, mostly to do with recovery equipment failures (i.e. one 2013 flight had the ballute rip free, and the parachute could not open).

I met the Armadillo team at the 2006 Wirefly X-Prize cup; they’re a good bunch. I was rooting for them back then, and hopefully we’ll see a successful flight and recovery at Spaceport America on May 5th!

]]> By: Robert Zimmerman https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/another-smallsat-rocket-company-enters-the-fray/#comment-1047721 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 20:05:51 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=51158#comment-1047721 In reply to Tom Donohue.

Tom Donohue: The one thing they do not make clear in their videos is whether or not they have actually reflown those rockets, how many times, and the time intervals between each flight. It seems to me that if they launched a rocket, landed it, and were quickly able to fly it again, they would trumpet this loudly. Instead, they are vague about it. Makes me skeptical.

]]> By: Blair Ivey https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/another-smallsat-rocket-company-enters-the-fray/#comment-1047718 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 19:16:26 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=51158#comment-1047718 I’m going to start selling bumper stickers: “Honk If You’ve Launched a Rocket”

]]> By: Tom Donohue https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/another-smallsat-rocket-company-enters-the-fray/#comment-1047709 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 18:06:06 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=51158#comment-1047709 Bob,

There is a pretty good clip on YouTube that they posted about themselves.

Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKVPreFsMgM

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