Tiny Caddo Mills’ Airport is Home to an Unlikely Resident
by Chris Sasser
Texas Transportation Institute
When I first contacted Phil Eaton, vice president of operations at Armadillo Aerospace, to set up an interview, we threw around potential dates – none of which coincided with the bi-weekly test of their lunar landing module. I lamented that it probably wasn’t necessary for me to see a test, to which Eaton had a quick and empathic response ‘Who wouldn’t want to see a rocket launch?!”
Indeed, and with that I was on my way to Caddo Mills to visit Armadillo Aerospace and watch a test launch.
First, Some Background
Founded in 2000, Armadillo Aerospace has quickly become a leading developer of reusable rocket-powered vehicles. The company is headed by John Carmack, a developer of computer games including the Doom and Quake series.
After initially being fully self-funded and relying on employees who volunteered their time twice a week, the company has recently caught the eye of NASA and other small commercial customers with several high-profile successes of their lunar-landing test vehicles. One of those was the 2008 Lunar Lander Challenge that took place on October 24-25 at the Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico. The crew took home the Level 1 top prize of $350,000.
In September, Armadillo Aerospace took their success a step further by qualifying for the Level 2 top prize. Level 2 requires the lunar landing module to hover for 180 seconds before landing precisely on a simulated lunar surface constructed with craters and boulders.
“We want to develop a module that can not only land on a surface in space but also take off and go to another location for exploration,” says Eaton.
In addition, the company does business with the Rocket Racing League, providing propulsion modules for their aircraft as well as some prototype testing assistance.
The company also has a sponsorship agreement with Microcosm/Scorpius, which provides the ultra light-weight pressure tanks for pressurized helium. They are the industry leaders in manufacturing ultra light-weight, linerless composite tanks. Along with the sponsorship, they received the naming rights of the 2009 Lunar Lander Challenge vehicle, dubbed Scorpius.
A New Home on the Prairie
The thing one notices when one visits Caddo Mills Municipal Airport for the first time is that, for an airport which is only 38 miles from downtown Dallas and two miles northwest of Interstate 30, it is decidedly in the middle of nowhere. According to Eaton, the remoteness, yet convenience to the Metroplex, was a significant factor in the company’s decision to relocate their testing facility to Caddo Mills.
“We used to do our testing at a facility in Dallas, but because of the increased size and noise of our vehicles, there were complaints from local businesses, which weren’t unjustified,” says Eaton. ‘We wanted to be good neighbors and realized it was time to move our testing facility. So literally I got in my car, turned my GPS on, and drove around the outskirts of Dallas where I came upon the airport at Caddo Mills.”
The company found a home in a large hangar previously used by Southwest Soaring, a sailplane company, and settled in during the summer of 2008.
Testing, Testing and More Testing
With its relatively low traffic, expanse of real estate and hangar space, the marriage of Caddo Mills Airport and Armadillo Aerospace has been a success.
Twice a week – Tuesday and Saturday – the company performs component tests on their lunar landing modules. And the first thing you notice when visiting on one of these days is that there is no standing around with your hands on your hips while watching others work to prepare the module for testing. A time or two I felt like grabbing a wrench, broom, or getting someone a cold beverage while waiting for “go” time.
As the module was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and positioned on a concrete pad in the middle of the field, Eaton walked by and handed me a radio so I could monitor communication between Carmack at control central and the rest of the team in the field. “You’re far enough away to where I don’t think you’ll need ear protection. But trust me, it will be loud,” says Eaton.
And loud it certainly was. As I watched the lunar lander hover for a minute before successfully touching down on target, I couldn’t help but look at the houses adjacent to the airport and wonder, ‘What do they think of these rockets firing next door to them?”
In line with their company approach of transparency and proactiveness, Armadillo Aerospace has actively worked to build ties in the local community to try to fend off the eventual
noise concerns.
“The first time we fired an engine at dusk, the local police said the 911 switchboard ‘lit up like a Christmas tree,’ with people concerned that something had exploded at the airfield,” says Eaton. ‘We participated in a local community festival the following week to meet a lot of the neighbors and get the word out about our activities. We are part of this community now, and it is important to us that we be good neighbors.”
As evidenced by their acceptance into the community of Caddo Mills and their airport, Armadillo Aerospace has found a home. And if the successes of the last few years are any indication, the potential for additional jobs and commerce within the small Texas community is as limitless as the frontier this company seeks to explore.
