Masten and JPL Team Up

JPL, Masten Testing New Precision Landing Software, NASA
“A year after NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity’s landed on Mars, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., are testing a sophisticated flight-control algorithm that could allow for even more precise, pinpoint landings of future Martian spacecraft.
Flight testing of the new Fuel Optimal Large Divert Guidance algorithm – G-FOLD for short – for planetary pinpoint landing is being conducted jointly by JPL engineers in cooperation with Masten Space Systems in Mojave, Calif., using Masten’s XA-0.1B “Xombie” vertical-launch, vertical-landing experimental rocket.”
Marc’s note: It’s great to see this type of collaboration. With a limited market at the moment, and purely for discussion, I wonder if Masten might be an attractive acquisition by a larger company who would be interested in their technology and with the funds to do more.