NASA Mighty Eagle terrestrial robotic-lander testbed
Mighty Eagle was NASA Marshall and Johns Hopkins APL’s terrestrial lander testbed for terminal-descent guidance and sensors. Its 2011–2013 campaigns progressed from basic control validation to optical rendezvous, hazard avoidance and Moon Express guidance tests. Peroxide propulsion simulated lunar-gravity descent while supporting repeated flights on Earth.
Follow this vehicle family
Future launches and major activity directly linked to this vehicle family.
Identity
- Aliases
- Mighty EagleWarm Gas Test ArticleWGTA
- Family Name
- Mighty Eagle
- Full Name
- NASA Mighty Eagle terrestrial robotic-lander testbed
- Roles
- researchexperimentaltechnology_demonstratorlander
- Status
- retired
- Type
- other
Details
- Description
- Mighty Eagle was NASA Marshall and Johns Hopkins APL’s terrestrial lander testbed for terminal-descent guidance and sensors. Its 2011–2013 campaigns progressed from basic control validation to optical rendezvous, hazard avoidance and Moon Express guidance tests. Peroxide propulsion simulated lunar-gravity descent while supporting repeated flights on Earth.
- First Flight Year
- 2,011
- Last Flight Year
- 2,013
- Operator
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- other
- Propulsion System
- Role
- landing
- Variant Notes
- Complete integrated complement: 12 attitude-control thrusters, three descent thrusters and one gravity-cancelling thruster.
- Name
- Integrated hydrogen-peroxide propulsion
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- October 29, 2026 at 16:05:00 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 16:05:00 UTC