X Prize Cup 2007

Shanelle sent me on down to New Mexico for the weekend for the X Prize Cup (Holloman Air & Space Expo). The air show was impressive and the space stuff was exciting to see. My observation was that most of the people there were more interested in the air and military stuff than the space stuff - that was a curiosity to me.

I have some attraction to desert, so I thought New Mexico was mighty pretty. I flew into El Paso, Texas and drove up to the show. All of the rest areas had warnings not to leave side walks / pavement: some were warnings about rattlesnakes and scorpions and the others were about live ammunition. I didn't take any nature walks but I did take some pictures of the environment for my own recollection.

San Augustin Pass looking down at the White Sands Missile Range

Moonset at White Sands Missile Range

I stayed in Las Cruces, so it was about a 50 minute drive - most of it was in the missile range. Until getting to the actual white sand, it was pretty much just like the picture above.

The space displays were at the main entrance. Below, you can see the Ares I model and the cool Starchasers display. There was some stuff inside as well, but most of the rocket companies were outside.

Static Model for Starchasers

Model of Ares I and more space stuff

The static models were annoying to me - all of the planes in the area were actual airplanes - even the stealths - but there were only about 4 real rockets there. SpaceShipOne has an excuse (because the real one is hanging in the Smithsonian). Perhaps it is because most of the rocket companies are founded by people in software (software people don't make anything real except for once per decade).

Ares Simulator - looks like glass, but accepted user input (grab and move stuff around with your hands)

Many Banners - very informative

F-22 Raptor showing off thrust vectoring up close

C-5 Galaxy wow these are big

B-1 Bomber (the Bone)

Of course, one of my highlights was seeing the Lunar Lander Challenge flights. Below is a recording of the second half of the Lunar Lander Challenge: the rocket had already flown successfully once, been refueled, and now is on a return flight. The rocket needs to stay airborn for 90 seconds in order to be successful.


Another highlight was Rob Holland's aerobatics. The clip below is from a show this past summer but the same routine. Good stuff.