Masten Space Systems’ unmanned Xombie rocket recently made a successful flight test, flying from one pad to another and landing again. This was the first free-flight test for Xombie as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program. Using the GENIE (Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment) System, the Xombie suborbital rocket lifted off 50 meters to a stable hover, then flew laterally down range 50 meters, and then landed safely during a controlled 50 meter descent. The testing, which exercised the autonomous guidance, navigation, and control technology needed to fly planetary landing trajectories, was conducted at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
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