XCOR Lynx: The Rocket Plane That Almost Made It

The Genesis of XCOR Aerospace

• 🚀 XCOR Aerospace was founded in 1999 by former Rotary Rockets employees with the dream of building an orbital vehicle.
• 💡 Initially, they aimed to build replicas of the ME163 comet, but their focus shifted to developing rocket-powered aircraft.

Early Rocket Plane Development

• ✈️ The EZ Rocket, a modified Rutan Long EZ, replaced the piston engine with two XCOR XR4 A3 rocket engines, demonstrating the feasibility of rocket-powered flight.
• ⏱️ This aircraft achieved milestones like the first rocket-powered touch-and-go and the first air-mail delivery by a rocket plane.
• 🏁 XCOR also contributed to the Rocket Racing League concept with the Mark1 XRE, built on a Velocity SE airframe.

The XCOR Lynx Concept

• 🌌 The Lynx was designed as a suborbital space plane for two, a pilot and a passenger, with a simpler single-stage, runway-to-runway operation.
• ⚙️ Its design featured a delta wing, four kerosene/liquid oxygen engines, and a pressurized cabin, aiming for rapid turnaround between flights.
• 📈 The flight profile involved a vertical climb to altitude, a Mach 3 cruise, and a challenging 4G pull-out maneuver to decelerate and return to the runway.

Engine Innovation and Challenges

• 💡 A key innovation was the 5K18 rocket engine for the Lynx, which used a piston engine-driven pump instead of traditional turbo pumps, allowing for smaller, more agile engines.
• ⚠️ XCOR faced significant challenges with the airframe design and aerodynamic stability, compounded by limited funding compared to competitors like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin.
• 💰 The company sought funding through various means, including ticket sales, sponsorships like the Axe Apollo deal, and a proposed move to Texas which ultimately stalled.

Downfall and Legacy

• 📉 A pivotal moment was the acquisition of Space Expedition Corporation and subsequent management changes, leading to the departure of founder Jeff Greon.
• 🚀 XCOR shifted focus to developing hydrogen-oxygen engines for United Launch Alliance (ULA), seeing it as a more stable revenue stream.
• 💔 Ultimately, the ULA contract was canceled, and XCOR declared bankruptcy in 2017, leaving the Lynx project and passenger dreams unfulfilled.
• ✨ Despite its failure, the Lynx concept is seen as sound, offering a potentially cheaper suborbital flight model than current offerings, with companies like Dawn Aerospace now pursuing similar runway-to-runway drone concepts.