Grand Prize Winner will receive $2M Bonus Prize for Successful Florida Based Launch.
Space Florida Press Release via Business Wire
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.–Space Florida, the organization charged by the Florida Legislature with promoting and developing Florida’s aerospace industry, today announced that it will be a new preferred partner and Florida will become the first preferred launch site for the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE competition. Each preferred partner offers additional prizes or strategic services at a discounted rate to all competition teams.
As the first preferred launch site, Space Florida will award an additional prize of $2 million to the Grand Prize winner of the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition, provided the winner launched the winning flight from the State of Florida and upon confirmation that the winner has complied with all competition rules.
Continue reading ‘Space Florida Announces Strategic Partnership for Google Lunar X PRIZE Competition’
UA News has a story about the University of Arizona’s partnership with Carnegie Mellon University and Raytheon Missile Systems to form Team Astrobotic - one of 10 competitors in the Google Lunar X Prize competition.
The UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and its Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering are the major elements of the university’s participation. “This is the dream team,” Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Director Michael J. Drake said.
LPL will provide its expertise in designing, building and operating imaging camera systems. It will add a clean room and a high bay to its Phoenix Science Operations Center, where the lunar lander will be assembled.
The Arizona Daily Star also has a story.
Florida is offering a $2 million incentive to encourage entrants in the Google Lunar X Prize to launch their robotic rover from the state.
The money would be in addition to the $20 million prize being offered by Google and the X Prize Foundation for the first private group to land a spacecraft on the moon by the end of 2010. Ten organizations have registered for the competition.