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On July 23, 2022, a payload designed and built by Los Alamos National Laboratory was successfully launched on a suborbital ballistic trajectory during a flight test at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. The payload was carried on a new type of modular boost rocket funded by Los Alamos’ Stockpile Responsiveness Program and built by Albuquerque-based X-Bow Systems.

“This partnership between X-Bow and Los Alamos will enable the Laboratory to leverage the revolution in commercial space flight and provide our scientists and engineers with rapid and cost-effective access to experimental flight test data,” explains Charlie Nakhleh, associate Laboratory director for Weapons Physics at Los Alamos. “Experiments conducted at a high cadence are the surest path to learning and innovation and provide one of the best ways we have to train a new generation of scientific and engineering staff.” ★