Lunar Lander Challenge - 2009

2009

The method of competing in Lunar Lander Challenge was modified for the 2009 competition season to enable teams to compete from multiple locations, rather than at a single location, as was done in previous seasons. Instead, judges are traveling to a location near the applicants' home base, where prize competition efforts may be attempted over the course of several days during the LLC season of July 20 to October 31.

The Lunar Lander Challenge concluded this season with the following flights and results:

• Armadillo Aerospace made their attempt for the Level 2 purse from Caddo Mills, Texas, on September 12 and 13, and successfully qualified for the Level 2 prize. The judges would later rule the accuracy of this flight as 2nd place for Level 2.
• Masten Space Systems attempted to win second prize for Level 1 on September 15–16, but aborted after first flight. They successfully flew both legs (Level 1) on October 7 from the Mojave Air & Space Port. The judges would later rule the accuracy of this flight as second place for Level 1.
• BonNovA had previously announced it intended to attempt to claim the Level 1 prize in Cantil, California, on Oct 26th-27th, but cancelled the weekend before the scheduled date.
• Masten Space Systems attempted the Level 2 flights on Oct 28-30 from Mojave. After problems with the computer aborting the launch, a fire after one attempt and overnight repairs, the "Xoie" rocket flew both legs and qualified for Level 2. The judges would later rule the accuracy of this flight as 1st place for Level 2, and awarded the US$1,000,000 Level Two prize to Masten.
• Unreasonable Rocket attempted to claim purses in both competition levels from Cantil, California on Oct 30 to Nov 1, and did make an 84 second pad-to-pad flight on the Level 1 competition, but did not successfully complete either level.