During lunchtime conversations today I mentioned that the X-Prize Cup was coming up in a few weeks and that it would include a Lunar Lander Challenge. My friend David Jeffress brought up the fact that a local team, Armadillo Aerospace headed by DOOM creator John Carmack, was considered to be the front-runner.
That got me wondering who would probably get the contract for the new Lunar Lander. Boeing and Northrop Grumman lost the Project Orion contract to Lockheed Martin, but I think the Lander will go to Northrop Grumman's team. Grumman built the original Lunar Modules, and I think NASA would like to spread VSE contracts to as many congressional districts as they can to maintain support for the program.
As for Northrop Grumman, they seem keen on reminding everyone that they are the "go to" company for lunar landers. They've signed on with the X-Prize Cup to become the official sponsor for what is now known as The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.
"Northrop Grumman is a company built on a foundation of innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and a passion for meeting customers requirements with safe, reliable systems ... the same characteristics competitors will need to be successful in the Lunar Lander Challenge," said Art Stephenson, vice president, space exploration systems for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "As the company that designed and built the original family of Apollo Lunar Modules, and as one of NASA's key partners in helping define the nation's Vision for Space Exploration, we're delighted to partner with the X PRIZE Foundation to create a forum for new ideas and collaboration that will help return humans to the moon by 2020."
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