Masten Xaero
Yesterday during flight testing of Xaero vehicle at higher altitudes the craft started to oscillate during landing final approach and crashed to the ground in a fiery explosion.
official word from Masten:
“Today, Masten Space Systems conducted a flight test of Xaero to 1 km altitude with the intention of testing flight controls at higher ascent and descent velocities. Our test objectives were met and initial results show the vehicle performed better than expected at altitude. However, the vehicle was lost during final approach to landing, and the initial cause appears to be a throttle valve failure. The most important thing is that our team is safe and with the data from this test, we expect to be flying again soon!
Thanks for your support!”
September 12, 2012 at 11:41 am
Keep it going. This is the kind of things that will lead to new and interesting space development occurring.