Modular boost rockets get test at White Sands Missile Range
NewsJuly 29, 2022
U.S. ARMY/WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. Aerospace contractor X-Bow Systems (Albuquerque, New Mexico) reports a succcessful initial launch of its Bolt Rocket -- the first vehicle in X-Bow's new suite of modular boost rockets -- at the White Sands Missile Range.
The so-called XL-2 mission, which carried a payload test vehicle for the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), had as a goal to create and test new technologies, capabilities, and competition into the solid rocket motor (SRM) arena.
According to the announcement of the initial XL-2 launch, X-Bow's team will now examine the XL-2 mission data, inspect the recovered hardware, and move on to test its additively manufactured solid propellant technology on its second mission, sponsored by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Additional launches of increasing size and capabilities in support of, and under contract with, additional customers are slated to occur through 2024 and beyond.
