Armadillo Launches a STIG-A Rocket; Captures Awesome Image of 'Ballute'

By Nancy Atkinson - February 2, 2012 at 11:04 PM UTC | Space Exploration
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Over the weekend, Armadillo Aerospace launched one of their STIG-A rockets and captured a unique image of their recovery system. A ballute is a cross between a balloon and a parachute, and are braking devices that are usually used at high altitudes and high supersonic velocities. The one used by Armadillo looks very reminiscent of space capsule of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo eras.

[caption id="attachment_93289" align="aligncenter" width="374" caption="Armadillo Aerospace's STIG-A III Rocket Launches Successfully from Spaceport America. Image courtesy Armadillo Aerospace"]

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Unfortunately, the ballute recovery system used by Armadillo didn't work exactly as planned, although the balllute itself was successful in bringing the rocket's nose cone back to Spaceport America in New Mexico, where it was launched. Just the GPS steerable main parachute was not able to be deployed as intended.

The launch took place on Saturday, January 28, 2012 but was not open to the public or publicized as taking place, as Armadillo Aerospace said they were testing proprietary advanced launch technologies. These images were just released today.

Launch occurred at 11:15 a.m. (MDT), and flight data indicates the rocket attained a maximum altitude of approximately 82-km (~50 miles).

"This vehicle was the same one that flew on December 4th, 2011 and successfully demonstrated the feasibility of a reusable rocket," said Neil Milburn, VP of Program Management for Armadillo Aerospace. "The altitude achieved in this second flight was approximately twice that of the earlier flight and again tested many of the core technologies needed for the proposed manned reusable suborbital vehicle."

[caption id="attachment_93290" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="View of the Rio Grande River valley from 239,000 ft (~50 mi) aboard Armadillo Aerospace's STIG-A III rocket launched from Spaceport America, taken January 28, 2012. Image courtesy Armadillo Aerospace"]

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The images captured by the rocket-mounted camera at apogee also serve to indicate the spectacular views of the Rio Grande valley that await future private astronauts, Armadillo Aerospace said in a statement.

The next incremental step for Armadillo Aerospace will be a 100-km (~62 miles) plus "space shot" with the successor vehicle STIG-B, which is provisionally scheduled to launch in early spring from Spaceport America.

[caption id="attachment_93291" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Another view of the Rio Grande River valley from 239,000 ft (~50 mi) aboard Armadillo Aerospace's STIG-A III rocket launched from Spaceport America, taken January 28, 2012. Image courtesy Armadillo Aerospace."]

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Source: Spaceport America

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com