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Revision as of 02:32, 2 January 2010 by Pyntix (talk | contribs) (→Operations)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Lynx rocketplane is a rocket-powered aircraft being developed by the California-based company XCOR to compete in the future suborbital space flight market. The Lynx is projected to carry one pilot and a ticketed passenger above 60 km altitude. The ticket will cost $95,000.
Description
The Lynx will have four liquid rocket engines at the rear of the fuselage burning a mixture of LOX-Kerosene and each of them will give between 2500-2900 lbf (11 120-12 900 N) of thrust.
Operations
According to XCOR, the Lynx will operate several times a day, and will also have the capacity to deliver payloads into space. The Lynx is currently scheduled to have its first flight in 2010. XCOR currently plans to have the Lynx's initial flights from the Mojave Air and Spaceport in Mojave, California. Because it lacks any propulsion system other than its rocket engines, the Lynx will have to be towed to the end of the runway. Once positioned on the runway, the pilot will ignite the four rocket engines and begin a steep climb. The engines will be shut off at approximately 138,000 feet and Mach 2. The spaceplane will then continue to climb, unpowered until it reaches an apogee of approximately 200,000 feet or 61 km. The spacecraft will experience a little over four minutes of weightlessness before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. The occupants of the Lynx may experience up to four times normal gravity during re-entry. Once it has completed re-entry, the Lynx will then glide down and perform an unpowered landing. The total flight time is projected to last about 30 minutes.
A successor aircraft, known as the Mark 2, is expected to have an apogee of 110km.
References
- "Press Reacts to RocketShip Tours". Satnews Daily. December 12, 2008.
- "XCOR Aerospace Completes Successful First Test Fire of Engine for Lynx Suborbital Launch Vehicle". XCOR Aerospace.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 55 (help) - "XCOR Unveils New Suborbital Rocketship". SPACE.com.
- "Lynx flight profile" (PDF). XCOR Aerospace.
- http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/04/14/325012/space-tourism-the-competition.html