XCOR Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, two small firms based in Mojave, Calif., said May 25 that they will jointly pursue NASA-sponsored unmanned lander projects that could arise under the technology development programs and robotic precursor missions the U.S. space agency intends to pursue.
Masten won $1 million in NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge last October with a terrestrial demonstration of a vertical takeoff and landing spacecraft called Xombie. XCOR, meanwhile, has been building and testing methane-fueled rocket engines, partly with NASA financial assistance.
XCOR and Masten said they will jointly market their services to the NASA community as prime contractors and as joint teaming partners for larger systems integrators and prime contractors.
