XCOR Aerospace#ULA liquid hydrogen large engine development project

The company was founded in Mojave, California in 1999 by Jeff Greason, Dan DeLong, Aleta Jackson and Doug Jones

{{cite news |last=Petty|first=Kathleen |title=A look at XCOR |url=http://www.mywesttexas.com/editors_picks/article_4345625e-c892-11e1-a3d2-001a4bcf887a.html |access-date=2012-07-09 |newspaper=Midland Reporter-Telegram |date=2012-07-07 }}

who had previously worked at the Rotary Rocket company.{{cite web |title=Our Team: Founders |url=http://www.xcor.com/bio/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210023701/http://www.xcor.com/bio/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 10, 2013 |work=Bios |publisher=XCOR Aerospace |access-date=2012-02-14 |quote=Founders: Jeff Greason, President; Dan DeLong, Vice President and Chief Engineer; Doug Jones, Co-Founder and Chief Test Engineer; Aleta Jackson, Co-Founder and Manager }}

In 2001, XCOR designed and built EZ-Rocket, the first privately built and flown rocket-powered airplane.{{cite news|last1=Knapp|first1=Alex|title=Bootstrapping To The Stars|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2014/06/18/bootstrapping-to-the-stars/|access-date=2014-06-19|work=Forbes|date=2014-06-18}} EZ-Rocket made its maiden flight in July 2001.

XCOR moved its development and manufacturing operations to Midland, Texas from July 2012 to 2015.

{{cite news |last=David|first=Leonard |title=Potential Colorado Spaceport Plan Gaining Steam |url=http://www.space.com/15829-colorado-spaceport-private-spaceflight.html |access-date=2012-05-23 |newspaper=Space.com |date=2012-05-23}} The company uses the Mojave Air and Space port primarily to conduct test flights.{{cite news|url=https://ramblernewspapers.com/2014/08/xcor-breaking-down-walls-one-step-closer-to-space/|title=XCOR breaking down walls: One step closer to space|date=August 2014|access-date=January 19, 2023|publisher=Rambler Newspapers}}

In 2015, XCOR attracted investment from Chinese venture firm Haiyin Capital, valuing the company at $140 million.{{Cite journal |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2015/05/26/chinese-venture-firm-haiyin-capital-is-investing-in-space-company-xcor/ |title= Chinese Venture Firm Haiyin Capital Is Investing In Space Company XCOR |author= Alex Knapp |date= 26 May 2015 |journal= Forbes }}

From 1999 to 2015, Jeff Greason served as CEO. In mid-2015, John "Jay" Gibson succeeded Greason as CEO.

[http://www.space.com/28825-xcor-aerospace-lynx-plane-ceo.html XCOR Aerospace Picks New CEO], accessed 2015-07-21[http://www.xcor.com/about_us/index.html XCOR Aerospace Company Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223213317/http://xcor.com/about_us/index.html |date=2009-02-23 }}, accessed 2009-02-19 Later that year three of the co-founders, Jeff Greason, Dan DeLong and Aleta Jackson, left the company to found Agile Aero, an aerospace company focused on rapid development and prototyping of aerodynamic spacecraft.{{cite news |url= http://spacenews.com/xcor-co-founders-establish-new-company/ |title= XCOR Co-Founders Establish New Company |author= Jeff Foust |date= 30 November 2015 |publisher= SpaceNews }}

In May 2016, the company halted development of the Lynx spaceplane and pivoted company focus toward development its LOX/LH2 engine technology, particularly on a funded project for United Launch Alliance. The company laid off more than 20 people of the 50–60 persons onboard prior to May.{{cite news |last=Foust |first=Jeff |url=http://spacenews.com/xcor-lays-off-employees-to-focus-on-engine-development/ |title=XCOR lays off employees to focus on engine development |work=SpaceNews |date=2016-05-31 |access-date=2016-07-13}}

By the end of June 2017, CEO Gibson left the company, and the company laid off all remaining employees,{{cite web |title=Report: XCOR to lay off remaining employees |url=http://www.mrt.com/news/article/Report-XCOR-to-lay-off-remaining-employees-11268776.php |access-date=6 July 2017 |date=5 July 2017 |author=Midland Reporter-Telegram |work=mrt.com}}{{cite web |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2017/07/05/xcor-lays-remaining-employees/ |access-date=5 July 2017 |date=5 July 2017 |first=Doug |last=Messier |publisher=parabolicarc.com |title=XCOR Lays off Remaining Employees |archive-date=27 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827033820/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2017/07/05/xcor-lays-remaining-employees/ |url-status=dead }} hiring about half back on a contract basis. The company filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in November 2017.

File:Xcor-rocketracer-N216MR-071029-07cr-7.jpg climbing to 10,000 feet on its first full flight, October 29, 2007 at the Mojave Spaceport]]

File:Xcor-rocketracer-N216MR-071029-37cr-16.jpg

File:Xcor-rocketracer-N216MR-071029-39cr-16.jpg

{{Details|Lynx (spacecraft)}}

The Lynx was planned to be capable of carrying a pilot and a passenger or payload on sub-orbital spaceflights over {{convert|100|km}}. Between 20 and 50 test flights of Lynx were planned, along with numerous static engine firings on the ground. A full step-by-step set of taxi tests, runway hops and full-up flights were planned to get the vehicle to a state of operational readiness. Lynx was envisaged to be roughly the size of a small private airplane. It was planned to be capable of flying several times a day making use of reusable, non-toxic engines to help keep the space plane's operating costs low.{{cite web|url=http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2008/08-03-26_Lynx_suborbital_vehicle.html |title=XCOR Aerospace announces new suborbital vehicle "Lynx" to fly within two years |publisher=XCOR Aerospace |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509143030/http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2008/08-03-26_Lynx_suborbital_vehicle.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }} The Lynx superseded a previous design, the Xerus spaceplane.Foust, Jeff (31 March 2008) [http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1095/1 One size may not fit all] The Space Review, Retrieved 20 January 2015 The Lynx was initially announced in March 2008, with plans for an operational vehicle within two years. That date slipped, first to 2012,{{cite web|url=http://spaceexperiencecuracao.com/blog/press-release-april-12-2011/|title=Countdown has begin for SXC|date=2011-04-12|quote=Early next year, we will make the first sub-orbital flight, after which the final development will speed up tremendously. According to our schedule, we will be ready for commercial take-off by the end of 2013|publisher=Space Expedition Curacao|access-date=17 April 2011}} then to 2015Norris, Guy (8 October 2014) [http://aviationweek.com/awin-only/xcor-lynx-moves-final-assembly XCOR Lynx Moves Into Final Assembly] Aviation Week, Retrieved 20 January 2015 and in January 2016 the company declined to give a projected date for the first test flight.{{cite web | title = XCOR officials refrain from disclosing date for Lynx test flights | publisher = Midland Reporter-Telegram | date = January 17, 2016 | url = http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_0783b3da-bced-11e5-97bc-6f2e78081a3e.html |access-date = March 8, 2016}}

The Mark II was projected to fly twelve to eighteen months after the first test flight depending on how fast the prototype moved through the test program.

As of 2012, XCOR had presold 175 Lynx flights at {{currency|95000|US}} each.

On 27 May 2016, XCOR laid off a significant portion of its workforce and placed the development of the Lynx Spacecraft on indefinite hold to focus on development of a rocket engine.{{cite news |url= http://spacenews.com/xcor-lays-off-employees-to-focus-on-engine-development/ |title= XCOR lays off employees to focus on engine development |author= Jeff Foust |date= 31 May 2016 |publisher= SpaceNews }}

XCOR has developed Nonburnite, a cryo-compatible, inherently non-combustible composite material based on a thermoplastic fluoropolymer resin. Low coefficient of thermal expansion and inherent resistance to microcracking make it well suited to cryogenic tank use and also part of vehicle structure.{{cite web | url = http://www.xcor.com/products/cryo_compatable_composites.html | title = XCOR Aerospace: Cyro Compatible Fluoropolymer Composite Material | publisher = XCOR Aerospace | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130403022812/http://www.xcor.com/products/cryo_compatable_composites.html | archive-date = 2013-04-03 }} {{asof|2012|02}}, Nonburnite was to have been used in the tanks of the Lynx rocketplane.{{cite news|title=A Perspective on XCOR's Progress Towards Flying "Lynx"|url=http://hobbyspace.com/nucleus/?itemid=35388|access-date=2012-02-13|newspaper=RLV and Space Transport News|date=2012-02-02}}

In March 2011, United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced they had entered into a joint-development contract with XCOR for a flight-ready, {{convert|25000|to(-)|30000|lbf|kN}} cryogenic LH2/LOX upper-stage rocket engine. Partially as a result of positive results achieved from an earlier (2010) effort to develop a new aluminium alloy engine nozzle using innovative manufacturing techniques, ULA believes the new engine technology will save several hundred pounds of weight from the large engine and will "lead to significantly lower-cost and more-capable commercial and US government space flights."{{cite web |title=XCOR and ULA Demonstrate Revolutionary Rocket Engine Nozzle Technology — also sign contract for Liquid Hydrogen Engine Development |url=http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/News.shtml#/68/ |publisher=ULA |access-date=2011-03-23 |date=2011-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207160150/http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/News.shtml#/68/ |archive-date=2013-12-07 |url-status=dead }}

The "multi-year project's main objective [was] to produce a flight-ready LOX/LH2 upper-stage engine in the {{convert|25000|to|30000|lbf|kN}}-thrust class that costs significantly less to produce and is easier to operate and integrate than competing engine technologies"

{{cite news |last=Morring |first=Frank Jr. |title=ULA, XCOR to Develop Upper-Stage Engine |url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/awx/2011/03/22/awx_03_22_2011_p0-299850.xml&headline=ULA,%20XCOR%20to%20Develop%20Upper-Stage%20Engine&channel=space |access-date=2011-03-25 |newspaper=Aviation Week |date=2011-03-23 |quote=''United Launch Alliance (ULA) and XCOR Aerospace are planning a joint effort to develop a low-cost upper-stage engine in the same class as the venerable RL-10..." }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

2011 demonstration test firings of an aluminum nozzle on XCOR's Lynx 5K18 LOX/kerosene engine demonstrated "the ability of the aluminum nozzle to withstand the high temperatures of rocket-engine exhaust over numerous tests, with no discernable degradation of the material properties of the alloys. The tests validated the design, materials and manufacturing processes used in the nozzle, and laid a foundation for scaling the design to EELV-sized engines."

{{cite web |title=XCOR and ULA Demonstrate Revolutionary Rocket Engine Nozzle Technology; Also Sign Contract for Liquid Hydrogen Engine Development |url=http://xcor.com/press-releases/2011/11-03-22_XCOR_and_ULA_demonstrate_rocket_engine_nozzle.html |work=press release |publisher=XCOR Aerospace |access-date=2011-03-25 |date=2011-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325113925/http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2011/11-03-22_XCOR_and_ULA_demonstrate_rocket_engine_nozzle.html |archive-date=2011-03-25 }}

{{as of|2011}}, the length of the development program was stated to depend on "the level of investment as milestones are met in the build-a-little, test-a-little approach favored by XCOR." If investment is minimized, flight engines would not be available for five to ten years.

A subscale {{convert|2500|lbf|kN}}-thrust LH2/LOX engine was developed by 2013, named the XR-5H25, in order to support the XCOR/ULA engine development program. The first hot fire test of the prototype engine was in November 2013, the test was deemed successful.

{{cite news |last=Messier|first=Doug |title=XCOR Reaches Milestone in Liquid Hydrogen Engine Program |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/11/19/xcor-reaches-milestone-liquid-hydrogen-engine-program/ |access-date=2013-11-20 |newspaper=Parabolic Arc |date=2013-11-19 }}

It was also the first demonstrated use of a piston-pump-fed LH2 rocket engine, a new method to design "liquid hydrogen rocket engines that fundamentally breaks current cost, reliability and operational models".

In April 2015, ULA announced that the XCOR/ULA joint-development rocket engine is one of the candidate engines for a new ULA upper stage rocket to be fielded no earlier than 2023. The Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) is a long-life-on-orbit, high-performance, upper stage that, after consideration/competition by ULA, will use one of three engines to go into production with. The other engines under consideration are the {{convert|25000|lbf|kN|disp=flip|adj=on}}-Aerojet Rocketdyne RL-10 and the {{convert|150000|lbf|kN|disp=flip|adj=on}}-Blue Origin BE-3. ACES will be a second stage for the Vulcan launch vehicle after 2023, in lieu of the Centaur upper stage that is projected to fly on Vulcan as early as 2019.

{{cite news |last1=Gruss|first1=Mike |url=http://spacenews.com/ulas-vulcan-rocket-to-be-rolled-out-in-stages/ |work=SpaceNews |title=ULA's Vulcan Rocket To be Rolled out in Stages |date=2015-04-13 |access-date=2015-04-19 }}

Completed projects have included:

• EZ-Rocket, a Rutan Long-EZ homebuilt aircraft fitted with two XR-4A3 {{convert|400|lbf|kN}} thrust rocket engines replacing the normal propeller engine.{{cite web |url=http://xcor.com/engines/LOX-alcohol_4A3.html |title=LOX-Alcohol Rocket Engine |website=www.xcor.com |publisher=XCOR Aerospace, Inc. |access-date=2015-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626025127/http://xcor.com/engines/LOX-alcohol_4A3.html |archive-date=2015-06-26 }} EZ-Rocket has been flown at numerous airshows including the 2005 Countdown to X Prize Cup[http://www.spacedaily.com/news/xprize-05b.html "XCOR To Fly EZ-Rocket At X Prize Cup Countdown", Space Daily, August 19, 2005, accessed February 19, 2009] and the 2002 Oshkosh Airshow. EZ-Rocket was "the first rocket-powered aircraft built and flown by a non-governmental entity". On 3 December 2005, XCOR Aerospace flew its EZ-Rocket from Mojave, California to California City, California, both in Kern County. Test pilot Dick Rutan made the flight, which lasted about 9 minutes and carried US mail from the post office in Mojave to addresses in California City. This was the first time that a crewed, rocket-powered aircraft was used to carry U.S. Mail.
• Rocket Racer - The EZ-Rocket program led to a second rocketplane design for the Rocket Racing League. It was built on a Velocity SE airframe and later became known as the Mark-I X-Racer. It was powered by an XCOR regeneratively cooled and pump-fed XR-4K14 rocket engine.

[http://www.xcor.com/products/index.html Products Overview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125130731/http://www.xcor.com/products/index.html |date=2010-11-25 }}, XCOR Aerospace, undated, accessed 2010-12-27. "Twin 400 lb-thrust XR-4A3 engines aboard the EZ-Rocket" (with in-flight photograph) ... "Another engine that we have developed in parallel is the XR-4K14, ... a 1,500 lb thrust regeneratively cooled LOX and pump-fed kerosene system ... used as the Rocket Racer aircraft's main engine." This rocket-powered aircraft flew several demonstration flights at the 2008 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show.

[http://www.universetoday.com/2009/08/06/xcor-xracer-videos/ XCOR X-Racer], by Nancy Atkinson, Universe Today, 2009-08-06, accessed 2010-04-26. The total thrust for the single-engine Mark-I X-Racer has been variously reported as {{convert|1500|lbf|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1800|lbf|abbr=on}},[http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2006-02/x-racers-start-your-rockets X-Racers, Start Your Rockets! : The creators of the X prize offer a sensational vision of rocket-powered airplanes speeding through the sky. But can their new racing league steal a bit of Nascar's thunder?], Michael Belfiore, Popular Science (feature cover story), 2006-02-15, accessed 2010-09-02. approximately twice that of the EZ-Rocket initial prototype. The engine uses pressure-fed LOX and pump-fed kerosene, a combination that allows the fuel to be stored in the airplane's wing tanks while avoiding potential complications with pumping liquid oxygen.{{cite news|last=Gatlin |first=Allison |title=XCOR performance tested |publisher=Antelope Valley Press |date=2008-07-11 |url=http://www.avpress.com/n/11/0711_s5.hts |access-date=2008-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715125913/http://avpress.com/n/11/0711_s5.hts |archive-date=July 15, 2009 }} After flight testing of the X-Racer was completed in 2008, XCOR completed seven rocketplane flights in one day.

• Tea cart engine, a 15 lbf (67 N) thrust rocket motor burning nitrous oxide and ethane, mounted on a small industrial cart. The tea cart engine has repeatedly been fired indoors at conferences and demonstrations and had accumulated over 1,837 firings and 9,039 seconds of run time{{cite web | url = http://xcor.com/products/engines/2P1_N2O_ethane_rocket_engine.html | title = XCOR Aerospace - 15 lb-thrust nitrous oxide / ethane rocket engine | publisher = XCOR Aerospace | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509185712/http://www.xcor.com/products/engines/2P1_N2O_ethane_rocket_engine.html | archive-date = 2013-05-09 }} by February 25, 2009.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
• LOX/methane rocket engines in testing in 2005.

{{cite press release |url=http://xcor.com/press-releases/2005/05-08-30_XCOR_completes_methane_rocket_engine.html |title=XCOR Aerospace Completes Successful Development of Methane Rocket Engine |date=2005-08-30 |publisher=XCOR Aerospace |access-date=2012-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204072451/http://xcor.com/press-releases/2005/05-08-30_XCOR_completes_methane_rocket_engine.html |archive-date=2012-02-04 }}

• Early LOX/methane work led to a NASA contract, jointly with ATK, to develop a {{convert|7500|lbf|abbr=on}} engine for potential use as the CEV lunar return engine. On January 16, 2007 XCOR announced the successful test firing of a preliminary "workhorse" version of this engine.

{{cite press release |url=http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2007/07-01-16_XCOR_begins_methane_engine_testing.html |title=XCOR Aerospace Begins Test Firing of Methane Rocket Engine |date=2007-01-16 |publisher=XCOR Aerospace |access-date=2012-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204072451/http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2007/07-01-16_XCOR_begins_methane_engine_testing.html |archive-date=2012-02-04 }}

The Space Expedition Corporation (SXC) was founded by Harry van Hulten and Lt-Gen (ret.) Ben Droste in 2008. Initially operating under a wet-lease agreement with XCOR Aerospace, it was acquired by XCOR Aerospace in June 2014 and was a fully owned subsidiary. Michiel Mol and Maarten Elshove joined SXC in 2010 and are thus considered founders. After the acquisition by XCOR Aerospace SXC was rebranded as XCOR Space Expeditions and integrated into the XCOR brand. XCOR Aerospace was organized as part of XCOR Corporate, but operated as the center of XCOR.{{cite news|url=https://spaceref.com/press-release/xcor-aerospace-acquires-space-expedition-corporation-sxc-to-become-xcor-space-expeditions/|title=XCOR Aerospace Acquires Space Expedition Corporation SXC to Become "XCOR Space Expeditions"|date=June 30, 2014|publisher=spaceref.com|access-date=January 19, 2023}}

XCOR Space Expeditions offered suborbital flights with the XCOR Lynx Mark I and Lynx Mark II Spaceships for the public. It planned to operate from Mojave, California, and Curaçao, where a spaceport was to be built.XCOR, http://spaceexpeditions.xcor.com/the-spaceflight/spaceports/

XCOR Space Expeditions also offered medical check ups, training missions with space simulators and G-Force Fighter Jet flights for ticketholders, among other preoperational missions and events.XCOR, http://spaceexpeditions.xcor.com/the-spaceflight/space-programs/

Approximately 282 people pre-purchased tickets for a Lynx ride. Customers paid up to $100,000 for a ticket, with some of that supposedly in an escrow account to be refunded in the case of a bankruptcy, but as of December 2018, most ticket-holders have not been refunded.{{cite news |last1=Masunaga |first1=Samantha |title=Lost in space: They paid $100,000 to ride on Xcor's space plane. Now they want their money back |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-xcor-astronauts-20181230-story.html |access-date=2019-01-01 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2018-12-30}}

XCOR Science offered payload flights for educational institutions and science to conduct experiments in space.XCOR, http://science.xcor.com/payloads/

The Lynx Mark I and Mark II allow a maximum payload of 140 kg to be transported into space besides the pilot. Payloads are separated into two parts, whereas Payload A with a maximum capacity of 20 kg is situated in a vessel behind the pilot seat. Payload B with a mass up to 120 kg takes the space of the second seat.XCOR, http://xcor.com/media/5886/2015002200001-xco-brochure-payloads-lr.pdf

It was planned in the future to develop the Lynx Mark III which will have the same capabilities as the Lynx Mark II and to fly up to 100 km above ground. In addition to the payloads of the Lynx Mark I and II, the Lynx Mark III would have an external dorsal mounted pod which will hold up an extra 650 kg.

No actual flights were made at the time the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2017.

• Rocket mail
• X Prize Cup

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://spaceexpeditions.xcor.com XCOR Space Expeditions website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223194328/http://spaceexpeditions.xcor.com/ |date=2016-02-23 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160302093408/http://science.xcor.com/ XCOR Science website]
• [http://www.xcor.com XCOR Aerospace website]
• [http://www.rocketracingleague.com/ Rocket Racing League] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182045/http://www.rocketracingleague.com/ |date=2016-03-03 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715193607/http://www.rocketshiptours.com/ RocketShip Tours]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140904145624/http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/38256457 XCOR at CSF Members Meeting], Rick Searfoss, Chief Test Pilot (starts @1:22), Commercial Spaceflight Federation, 4 Sep 2013.
• [https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-xcor-astronauts-20181230-story.html They paid $100,000 to ride on Xcor's space plane. Now they want their money back] - Los Angeles Times

{{Space tourism}}

Category:Mojave Air and Space Port

Category:Defunct spaceflight companies

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