XCOR's Lynx suborbital vehicle
I ran across this item from Lee Valentine that was posted on the Space Studies Institute website back in December. I’m not sure if this new “news”, but it’s interesting and something I hadn’t realized:
It seemed to Professor [Freeman] Dyson and me that the key technology to make SSI’s research worthwhile was a mature space transportation system. Without affordable space access, any additional time, money and talent SSI would spend developing technologies for use in space would be premature and not cost-effective.
Accordingly, SSI’s most recent hardware project was an investment in XCOR Aerospace to support rocket engine pump development. DARPA matched SSI’s investment four to one. The cryogenic and propellant pump systems made possible by that SSI investment are an integral part of the propulsion system developed by the company for its fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle, the Lynx. The pumps not only boost the performance of its long-lasting 5K18 liquid oxygen-kerosene engines, they also permit XCOR to improve performance through use of lighter tanks that conform to the spacecraft’s aerodynamic shape.
These kinds of technical advances move us closer to affordable space access and are proof that SSI can make a difference through targeted investment in research and technological development.
The DARPA investment is significant. They clearly see something useful in this technology, which has obvious military applications. And it helps explain how XCOR has been funding its work despite the global recession.
As for SSI, the organization has made an investment in a company that could take off in the next few years. That could bode well for an organization that is just getting back on its feet after some lean times.
Read the full post.
Similar Posts:
- XCOR Completes Wind Tunnel Test on Lynx Space Tourism Vehicle
- XCOR, ULA Team Up to Develop New Engine Technology
- XCor Unveils the Lynx; New Vehicle Will Fly to the Edge of Space
- XCOR Completes First Engine Test for Lynx Spaceplane
- For XCOR, It’s All About the Engine
