Armadillo Aerospace
| Privately held | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Mesquite, Texas |
|
Key people
|
John D. Carmack |
| Products | Rocket vehicles/Space Tourism |
| Revenue | Not disclosed |
| Website | www.armadilloaerospace.com |
|
Gallery of CCA3 images and video Official Youtube channel |
Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal was to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, and it had also stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack.
On October 24, 2008, Armadillo won $350,000 by succeeding in the Level 1 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. On September 12, 2009, Armadillo won $500,000 by succeeding in Level 2 of the same challenge.
In 2010, they signed an exclusive deal with Space Adventures. Armadillo Aerospace was to provide a sub-orbital rocket to fly tourists into space, while Space Adventures would sell tickets for the experience.
In August 2013, Carmack announced that Armadillo Aerospace had been put in "hibernation mode", following setbacks including the crash of the STIG-B rocket in January 2013.
In May 2014, several former employees of Armadillo Aerospace formed a new company, Exos Aerospace, which was created to carry their former company's research into reusable commercial space craft. The new company set up their operations in one of Armadillo's former facilities at the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport, in Texas. Exos completed acquisition of Armadillo assets in early 2015, and intends to begin launches of the Suborbital Active Rocket with Guidance (SARGE) in 2016 from Spaceport America in New Mexico. SARGE will be an enhanced Armadillo STIG-B.
The company placed a strong emphasis on a rapid build and test cycle. Armadillo Aerospace designed and built more than 12 vehicles which used about 50 engine designs for over 100 rocket flights. Each design had several features in common. One was the use of modern computer technologies and electronics to simplify rocket control and reduce development costs. Another was the use of liquid propellants and VTVL to facilitate short launch-to-launch times.
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