May 25th, 2010, Mojave, CA, USA: XCOR Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, two of the leaders in the New Space sector, have announced a strategic business and technology relationship to pursue jointly the anticipated NASA sponsored unmanned lander projects. These automated lander programs are expected to serve as robotic test beds on Earth, on the lunar surface, Mars, near Earth objects and other interplanetary locales, helping NASA push the boundaries of technology and opening the solar system for future human exploration.

Masten’s award winning automated vertical take off, vertical landing (VTVL) flight vehicles combined with XCOR’s strong experience in liquid oxygen (LOX) / methane powered propulsion systems and nonflammable cryogenically compatible composite tanks, brings to NASA a powerful and competitive combination of innovative talent with a proven record of producing exceptional results quickly and affordably.

Last October, Masten won the $1 million first prize for Level II of NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge, beating out a host of New Space rivals, and demonstrating they are the leading VTVL development group in the country. In 2007 XCOR Aerospace’s LOX/methane engine, developed for NASA, was named by Time Magazine as one of the “Inventions of the Year”, recognizing XCOR’s successive advancement in the state of the art of both pump and pressure fed reusable, throttle-able rocket propulsion systems. XCOR and Masten have also demonstrated the ability to rapidly take from concept to live fire, new propulsion and control system designs using innovative rapid prototyping techniques that surpass client requirements in much shorter periods of time than traditional aerospace methods.

Dave Masten, founder and President of Masten Space Systems commented “Masten Space and XCOR are next door neighbors here in Mojave. We’ve worked together on many tactical problems over the years and our corporate cultures mesh well. Working together on something like this simply made too much sense. We can’t wait to start working with Jeff, Dan, and the XCOR team to help NASA build affordable and responsive landing platforms.”

“Our company work ethic and styles are very compatible, and with XCOR propulsion and Masten VTVL technology, we can solve problems of national interest, and I am excited about the possibilities,” said Jeff Greason, CEO and Founder of XCOR.
Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR added, “It’s a no brainer, Dave’s team is the absolute best New Space company when it comes to VTVL and autopilot unmanned operations – they demonstrated that in October by winning NASA’s lander challenge. And we feel our LOX/methane engines are unsurpassed in the trade space today by anyone. We should bring this tandem set of best in class capabilities to NASA, it just makes sense for them and for us.”

XCOR and Masten will be jointly marketing their skill sets and services to the NASA community as prime contractors, and as joint teaming partners for larger systems integrators and prime contractors servicing the NASA community.

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Masten Space Systems is a Mojave, CA based aerospace company developing fully reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) launch vehicles, rocket-related products, and engineering services. The company’s 6000 square foot production facility and 200,000 square foot testing facility is located on the Mojave Air and Space Port. The company designs and builds aerospace solutions that focus on durability, long operational lifetimes, and minimal per-flight maintenance. For more information on the company see http://masten-space.com

XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket powered vehicles, propulsion systems, advanced non-flammable composites and other enabling technologies for responsive private space flight, scientific missions, upper atmospheric research, and small satellite launch to low earth orbit. The Lynx is a piloted, two seat, fully reusable, liquid rocket powered vehicle that takes off and lands horizontally. The Lynx production models (designated Lynx Mark II) are designed to be robust, multi-commercial mission vehicles capable of flying to 100+ km in altitude up to four times per day. XCOR’s web address is: www.xcor.com.

Contact:
Michael Mealling
Masten Space Systems
Phone: +1-888-488-8455 x102
Email: mmealling@masten-space.com

Mike Massee
XCOR Aerospace
Phone +1-661-824-4714 x127
Email: press@xcor.com

Boulder, Colorado – February 18, 2010 – Masten Space Systems announced that it is offering the winner of the Next-generation Suborbital Research Conference 2010 Student Suborbital Experiment Competition a free zero gravity flight. The winning proposal was New Mexico State University’s “Experimental Validation of a Robotics-Based Inertial Property Identification Algorithm for Orbiting Spacecraft.”

The flight will take place on one of the company’s new high altitude vehicles slated for flights later this year. These flights can give payloads several minutes of zero gravity critical to developing the new technologies that will lower the cost of exploring space. “It’s partnerships between motivated and creative students like these and low cost launch providers like us that will make the future of space flight look nothing like what has come before. Our goal is to open up suborbital flights like this to any university or high school team in the world at a price that is well within their budget,” said David Masten, CEO.

The second and third place winners were the University of Colorado at Boulder’s “Suborbital Flight Testing of a Deployable Reflector” and Colorado State University’s “Fiber-Optic Mass Gauging System for Measuring Liquid Levels in a Reduced Gravity Environment”. The competition was part of the first annual Next-generation Suborbital Research Conference held in Boulder, Colorado this week. The conference’s goal is to bring researchers from government, industry, and academia together with new suborbital launch providers and help the two communities discover their requirements and capabilities.

About Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems is a Mojave, CA based aerospace company developing fully reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) launch vehicles, rocket-related products, and engineering services. The company’s 6000 square foot production facility and 200,000 square foot testing facility is located on the Mojave Air and Space Port. The company designs and builds aerospace solutions that focus on durability, long operational lifetimes, and minimal per-flight maintenance. For more information on the company see http://masten-space.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Masten Space Systems
Michael Mealling
+1-678-640-6884
mmealling@masten-space.com

http://www.masten-space.com/

MASTEN SPACE’S XA-0.1B-750 VEHICLE COMPLETES FIRST FLIGHT

Mojave, California – May 8, 2009 – Masten Space Systems completed their first vertical take-off, vertical-landing (VTVL) rocket flight demonstration Friday. The demonstration proved out the design and controls of the 730lb rocket-powered vehicle, known as XA-0.1B-750 or “Xombie”, its internal nickname.

While the vehicle was attached to a safety tether, it took off, ascended a few meters, descended, and shut down its engine as designed. The instant the engine shut off the entire team yelled, “YES!”
(more…)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Masten Space Systems Announces X PRIZE CUP Sponsorship

Santa Clara, California – 8/26/05 Masten Space Systems announced today that it has become an Official Partner of the 2005 Countdown to the X PRIZE CUP, which will be held in Las Cruces, New Mexico from October 6th through the 9th.

“We share the X PRIZE CUP’s vision of making space a place that people can expect to travel to in their lifetime”, said David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems. “We are helping realize that vision by building extremely affordable suborbital launch services. We’re putting the cost of microgravity research into the ‘bake sale’ range.”

The X PRIZE CUP is an annual event in the spirit of the largest action-packed spectator events such as Grand Prix Racing and The America’s Cup. This year’s Countdown to the X PRIZE CUP is the ultimate venue for the entire family to watch and learn about the next generation of vehicles that will take the rest of us to space. The X PRIZE CUP will be held October 6th – 9th in Las Cruces and Alamogordo, New Mexico. Tens of thousands of people will come to see racing taken to new heights as industry leaders conduct test-flights, engine firings, aircraft fly-ins and much more.

While at the X PRIZE CUP event, Masten Space Systems will display its new engines, discuss test results, and provide flight profile details. Interested customers are encouraged to stop by the Masten Space Systems tent to discuss mission profiles and fundraising options.

*About Masten Space Systems, Inc*
Masten Space Systems is a Santa Clara, CA based aerospace company developing the XA (eXtreme Altitude) line of Vertical Takeoff/Vertical Landing (VTVL) suborbital and orbital launch vehicles. The company will begin flying customer missions in the spring of 2007 that will deliver a 100 kilogram payload to at least 100 kilometers for approximately USD $25,000. For more information on the company see http://masten-space.com/.

*About the X PRIZE CUP*
The X PRIZE CUP is an official partnership between the state of New Mexico and the X PRIZE Foundation, an educational non-profit prize institute. The events begin this October with the Countdown to the X PRIZE CUP at Las Cruces International Airport and Alamogordo Space History Museum in Southern New Mexico. Full details can be found at http://www.xpcup.com.

Media Contact: Michael Mealling
Masten Space Systems, Inc.
+1-678-581-9656
mmealling@masten-space.com

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Media links:
PRNewswire
Space Race News
New Mexico Business Weekly
XPRIZE CUP Press Release (includes a quote from New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans)
Spacedaily

Santa Clara, CA, August 16, 2004 – A new entrant in the rapidly expanding space industry emerged today as Masten Space Systems broke its silence by unveiling its new website, www.masten-space.com, and vehicle development plans. The site contains details on the XA-1 suborbital launch vehicle the company will be developing over the next few years.

The XA-1 is a VTOL, Vertical Takeoff and Landing, spacecraft. This means that the vehicle will take off vertically, like most rockets, but will also land on its tail they way rockets landed in in old science fiction movies and the way the Apollo spacecraft landed on the moon. VTOL craft tend to be more flexible and scalable than relying on wings or other aerodynamic lifting structures

The XA-1 is strictly a suborbital rocket, meaning that it will reach an altitude of 100km but without the velocity needed to achieve orbit. While it doesn’t achieve orbit, XA-1 will be able to provide significant cost savings for science and engineering tasks that require space-like conditions for short periods of time, such as microgravity research, upper atmospheric research, and aerospace hardware flight testing.

“This is the beginning of a lot of fun, but hard work. Work anyone can follow along with by visiting our blog where we will be posting regular updates of our progress, ” declared Dave Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems. A blog is a sort of running daily diary of events that will show not only the current status of development, but where the project has been and how it has changed over time.

Masten Space System’s web site can be found at http://masten-space.com/. The for further questions please contact the company at info@masten-space.com.