All these from Space.com.
Posted on 03/28/2008 9:38:49 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Mojave-based XCOR Aerospace officially joined the quest for space tourists Wednesday when the company unveiled its suborbital spacecraft, the Lynx. The rocketplane, dubbed the Lynx Mark 1, will carry the pilot and a single passenger to the edge of space, high enough to provide passengers a brief period of weightlessness, "a view of stars and black sky above, letting them look back down on Earth and the thin envelope of atmosphere below," XCOR CEO Jeff Greason said.
The Lynx will take off horizontally from a standard airport runway under rocket power and quickly climb to 138,000 feet at speeds reaching Mach 2.
It will glide the remaining distance to the final altitude of 200,000 feet, where passengers will feel between one and two minutes of weightlessness before the spacecraft begins its gliding descent to a runway landing.
Passengers will experience maximum forces of four times the pull of gravity, or 4 G's, during re-entry.
The entire flight is expected to last about 30 minutes, with roughly 20 minutes spent in the gliding descent.
The unpowered landing is a proven method, used in the X-15, lifting bodies and the space shuttle, "when you come back as a big ol' glider," said XCOR chief test pilot Rick Searfoss, a former space shuttle commander.
Unlike those other vehicles, the Lynx has the capability to re-ignite the rocket engines for another runway approach if needed.
The rocket engines for the Lynx are derivatives of the engines XCOR developed for its earlier rocketplanes, the EZ-Rocket and one under development for the nascent Rocket Racing League. They are fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene and will provide thrust in the 2,700- to 3,000-pound range, Greason said.
The composite vehicle will be built at the company's facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Space ping
Wow, pay millions for a 30 minute ride when you can feel the same sensation on any good roller coaster.
What roller coaster can you get 1-2 continuous minutes of weightlessness on?
Maybe not 1-2 minutes but for a lot less money you could rent a plane and parabolic flights all day.
“high enough to provide passengers a brief period of weightlessness, “a view of stars”
Any decent brand of Scotch will do that!
You just dont have the same view in outer space as you do from the tallest roller coaster....
When I get the money, when their rocket design is proven to never fail, and I can keep my cookies, I’ll go up.
What roller coaster provides you with that kind of view?
My luck I’ll get a bulkhead seat with no windows :)
Very nice!
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