(Yuba City, California April 21, 2008) BonNova, a design and engineering company competing for the 2008 Lunar Lander X Prize, has designed and developed an innovative lightweight, long-duration, multiple start engine, and is filing a provisional patent on the invention.
BonNova demonstrated the long duration firing of its flight-weight test engine for the Lauryad Lunar Lander and announced on April 16 that the Lauryad rocket engine sustained a successful :54 second hot-fire test using a graphite nozzle.
BonNova was one of eight teams that participated in the 2007 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, of which only one flew and missed the $1 million dollar prize. The "Lauryad" lander was inspired by and named after a fictional spaceship in a Vanna Bonta novel, Flight.
The 2008 X PRIZE Cup is currently in the planning and development stage and will be announcing dates and locations for the 2008 Cup.
http://www.bonnova.com/news.html
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