Executives from Dynetics announced on Tuesday that they will lead a seven-organization, from a dozen countries, to win the Google Lunar X Prize.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said, “We’re fortunate to have some of the best and brightest minds in the country here in the Rocket City. With this community’s technical aptitude and strong impact on space exploration, it is imperative that we take advantage of opportunities such as the Google Lunar X PRIZE. I have confidence this team will make our city proud.”

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby said, “Huntsville has a proud history as the rocket capital of the world and remains on the cutting edge of new space technology. I am confident this contingent will represent Huntsville’s tradition and prominence in space exploration well, and I wish the team the best of luck in the competition.”

The competition will give away $30 million in prizes, with $20 million for first prize, $5 million for second place and $5 million in other prizes. The goal is to land a rover on the moon, have it travel 500 feet and transmit pictures/data to Earth before the end of 2012. All teams must be at least 90% privately funded, to insure the acceleration of commercial space endeavors Google (and others) are pushing for.

• Teledyne Brown Engineering, an engineering services company
• Andrews Space Inc., an integrator of aerospace systems & technology developer
• Spaceflight Services, a provider of payload flight services
• Draper Laboratory, a non-profit R&D laboratory
• The University of Alabama in Huntsville, which has flown 18 space shuttle payloads
• The Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation, a non-profit research and development organization.

Alabama Andrews Space Draper Laboratory Dynetics Huntsville lunar moon Rocket City Spaceflight Services Teledyne Brown Engineering The University of Alabama in Huntsville Von Braun Center