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"We have designed this vehicle to operate much like a commercial aircraft," Xcor Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason said in a statement. Greason said the Lynx will provide affordable access to space for individuals and researchers, and future versions will offer improved capabilities for research and commercial uses. Xcor has spent nine years developing rocket engines in a facility down the flight line from Rutan's Scaled Composites LLC at the Mojave Airport north of Los Angeles. It has built and flown two rocket-powered aircraft. SpaceShipTwo is being developed on the success of SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 became the first privately funded, manned rocket to reach space, making three flights to altitudes between 62 miles and 69 miles and winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize. Powered by a hybrid engine -- the gas nitrous oxide combined with rubber as a solid fuel -- SpaceShipTwo will be flown by two pilots and carry up to six passengers who will pay about $200,000 apiece for the ride. Like its predecessor, SpaceShipTwo will be taken aloft by a carrier airplane and then released before firing its rocket engine. Virgin Galactic says passengers will experience about 4 1/2 minutes of weightlessness and will be able to unbuckle themselves to float in the cabin before returning to Earth as an unpowered glider. Xcor's Lynx also is intended to return as a glider but with the capability of restarting its engine if needed. Related Links: |
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