Earlier I posted a question - Can Lynx get to 100km before Virgin Galactic SS2. I have no clue but this is one more step closer. FWIW - XCOR seems to be taking small manageable steps towards a reusable sub-orbital rocket plane. From what I've seen in posts, this approach might have truly great merit.
Does anybody know their test plan?. I'm guessing it will be something like following.1) tethered flight (same as DC)2) drop/glide and land 3) Powered taxi4) Full powered takeoff and flight.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 04/09/2014 10:05 pmDoes anybody know their test plan?. I'm guessing it will be something like following.1) tethered flight (same as DC)2) drop/glide and land 3) Powered taxi4) Full powered takeoff and flight.No.They're planning to test it like an aircraft. Runway taxiing, touch-and-gos, envelope expansion.
Quote from: QuantumG on 04/09/2014 10:18 pmQuote from: TrevorMonty on 04/09/2014 10:05 pmDoes anybody know their test plan?. I'm guessing it will be something like following.1) tethered flight (same as DC)2) drop/glide and land 3) Powered taxi4) Full powered takeoff and flight.No.They're planning to test it like an aircraft. Runway taxiing, touch-and-gos, envelope expansion.For aircraft testing, do you just assume your control surfaces will operate as designed ? After tons of computer simulations and wind tunnel testing of course....
For aircraft testing, do you just assume your control surfaces will operate as designed ? After tons of computer simulations and wind tunnel testing of course....
QuantumG skipped one step between runway taxiing and touch-and-gos, they also do some tests called runway hops.
Quote from: Lurker Steve on 04/09/2014 10:51 pmQuote from: QuantumG on 04/09/2014 10:18 pmQuote from: TrevorMonty on 04/09/2014 10:05 pmDoes anybody know their test plan?. I'm guessing it will be something like following.1) tethered flight (same as DC)2) drop/glide and land 3) Powered taxi4) Full powered takeoff and flight.No.They're planning to test it like an aircraft. Runway taxiing, touch-and-gos, envelope expansion.For aircraft testing, do you just assume your control surfaces will operate as designed ? After tons of computer simulations and wind tunnel testing of course....QuantumG skipped one step between runway taxiing and touch-and-gos, they also do some tests called runway hops. Because a rocket has such a high T/W, you can go from a stop to takeoff speed on a tiny fraction of the runway, so you can lift off a little, verify basic controls, and land again on the same runway. But yeah, basically you test the prototype expanding the envelope little by little--just like most if not all aircraft are tested.~Jon
Quote from: BrightLight on 04/09/2014 07:36 pmEarlier I posted a question - Can Lynx get to 100km before Virgin Galactic SS2. I have no clue but this is one more step closer. FWIW - XCOR seems to be taking small manageable steps towards a reusable sub-orbital rocket plane. From what I've seen in posts, this approach might have truly great merit. VG would have to screw up a lot for XCOR to beat them at this point. Lynx Mk1 can't make it to 100km, so they're at least one vehicle away from that point. SS2 would have to run into another year or two worth of delays for XCOR to catch up.~Jon
Press ReleaseCFIUS Approval Clears XCOR Aerospace’s First Close of Series B FinancingXCOR Raises $14.2 Million of Investment Capital Led by Dutch Investors27 May 2014, Mojave, CA – XCOR Aerospace announced today that the United States Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) has approved the Series B lead investment by Dutch investors. The first closing of XCOR’s new round of finance issued $14.2 million of Series B preferred shares. XCOR will use the funds to bring the XCOR® Lynx® suborbital spaceplane to market.The Series B financing was led by Space Expedition Corporation (SXC) of The Netherlands. Michiel Mol and Mark Hoogendoorn of SXC will join the current five members on the XCOR Board of Directors. The first round also included many existing and new investors including: board member Esther Dyson, Pete Ricketts (co-owner of the Chicago Cubs), and a number of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and early-stage investors. A smaller second closing is scheduled over the summer.The SXC investment in XCOR signals a strong commitment to the commercial space industry by the Dutch entity, which is also XCOR’s lead wet-lease customer and general sales agent. Michiel Mol said, “With this investment in XCOR, we’re closing ranks with our most strategic partner. We will take the next step together toward our first commercial spaceflight. I’m proud to become a part of this fantastically dedicated team of ‘future makers’ and game changers.”Mark Hoogendoorn noted, “Investing in XCOR is much more than investing in innovative technology and a team of highly skilled engineers. Most of all, it’s investing in a long term vision we strongly believe in that will enable a new era of sustainable and regular space access that will positively impact all mankind.” Jeff Greason, Founder and CEO of XCOR, said, "We are very pleased to have this first closing of the Series B and welcome Michiel and Mark to the Board. This investment will allow us to accelerate and run in parallel several final developments in the critical path to first flight.""This first closing of the Series B is a signal to the market that XCOR is moving ahead with its plans for commercial service and that we are nearer to that goal," said Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR. “The Series B will remain open for a limited time as we complete discussions with a few more potential investors.”Although SXC acquired a minority position without control provisions in XCOR, the company took the cautious route of submitting the investment to CFIUS for review prior to an official public announcement. CFIUS agreed that no control provisions exist and that the investment is not a so-called “covered transaction.”
PARIS — Commercial suborbital spaceplane service provider XCOR Aerospace has sold $14.2 million in preferred stock, most of it to its long-standing strategic partner, Space Expedition Corp. of the Netherlands, which will now have two representatives on XCOR’s seven-member board of directors, XCOR announced May 27.The U.S. Treasury Deptartment’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved the transaction, XCOR said.
It appears that their rocket engine development is paced to create highly reliable, inexpensive to operate, reusable integrated systems
