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Science XCOR Lynx prepares to rocket customers into space
Science XCOR Lynx prepares to rocket customers into space | XCOR Lynx prepares to rocket customers into space |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Monday, 31 March 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 The first vehicle, which the company called the Lynx Mk. I, is hoping for a non-customer flight sometime in the first half of 2010. This first mission is aiming for an altitude of 38 miles (61 kilometers), about 200,000 feet. Eventually, the company is aiming to use an improved Lynx Mk. II, which will consist of a lighter-weight frame and materials and a thermal protection system (located on its underbelly that will resist the heat of Earth's atmosphere during re-entry) that will better protect its passengers as it reaches Mach 3.5 during its return to Earth. This Lynx version will reach an altitude of 68 miles (110 kilometers). Passengers on the Lynx will wear helmets and pressurized suits while in a pressurized compartment. They will receive training so as to be aware on how to operate their spacesuit and various emergency components if the need arises. In addition, the one passenger will ride in the cockpit with the pilot, unlike over space tourism companies, where the customers will ride in a cabin, like regular airplane passengers. Besides Gleason, the company’s president, its other high-profile team member is Rick Searfoss, the company’s test pilot, who is a former NASA space shuttle commander and a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. Searfoss describes the feeling of experiencing four times the force of gravity (4 Gs) as: "having two big dogs sitting on your chest." [FoxNews: “New Rocket Aims for Space Tourism Market ”] A price for a ticket to ride XCOR has not been announced, but the company states that it “will provide affordable front-seat rides to the edge of space for the millions of people who want to buy a ticket.” Gleason is gearing the company to eventually provide orbital flights with his Lynx space plane. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that, according to its estimates, the space tourism industry could be take in about $1 billion per year by the year 2021. Estimates in the 2015 time frame calls for about $500 million per year. The website of XCOR is: http://www.xcor.com/.
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