Armadillo joins the
sub-orbital space race

Armadillo Aerospace was founded by iD software's John Carmack. The software company is famous for being the creator of the legendary computer games Doom and Quake.

John Carmack plans to build the reusable space-bubble craft in 2009 and aims to start suborbital flights in 2010.

The cost for a ride onboard the space bowl is $US100,000 - on par with Xcor's sub-orbital flights.

The spacebowl will launch from Spaceport America, near Las Cruces.

Armadillo Aerospace is a leading developer of reusable rocket powered vehicles.

It is focused on VTVL (vertical takeoff, vertical landing) suborbital research and passenger flights, with an eye towards eventual paths to orbit.

Founded in 2000, Armadillo has a history of more than 100 flight tests spread over a dozen different vehicles.

It has worked for NASA and the Air Force, and flown vehicles at every X-Prize Cup event.

Armadillio Aerospace performed the first flight under the new FAA/AST experimental permit regulatory regime, and has have made over a half dozen more permitted flights since then, all fully insured and observed by on-site AST personnel.