Space Tourism: Industry view exploration and space's new frontiers

Main shuttles and private companies developing suborbital travel with data on flights.

With spacecraft that can carry tourists into orbit and connect Paris to New York in less than two hours, the new heroes of space travel are not astronauts but daring captains of industry.

This new breed of space pioneers are all using private money to push the final frontier as government space programmes fall away.

Times have changed. Once the space race was led by the likes of the US space agency NASA that put the first man on the moon in 1969.

Today it is entrepreneur Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla electric cars and space exploration company SpaceX, who wants to reach Mars in the 2020s.

The furthest advanced, and most highly-publicised, private space project is led by Richard Branson, infamous English hedonist and founder of the Virgin Group.

His so-called shuttle, SpaceShipTwo, will be launched at high altitude from a weird-looking four-engined mothership, which can carry two pilots and up to six passengers, before embarking on a three-hour suborbital flight.

Branson and his sons will be the first passengers aboard the shuttle when it is expected to launch later this year.

His company Virgin Galactic was given the green light in May by the US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to carry passengers from a base in New Mexico, which is named "Spaceport America," the stuff of science fiction.

File picture shows the WhiteKnightTwo, which carries Virgin's SpaceShipTwo into high altitude, prior to a flight at Spaceport America, northeast of Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico

Profitable at $250,000 a ticket 
The $250,000 (190,000 euro) price of a ticket has not deterred more than 600 people, including celebrities such as actor Leonardo DiCaprio, from booking their seats.

XCOR Lynx spaceplane
The US spaceflight company XCOR is more affordable, offering a one-hour suborbital flight for $100,000 (74,000 euros) on a shuttle that takes off from the Mojave Desert in California. XCOR have already sold nearly 300 tickets.

Michiel Mol

"The first prototype is being assembled. Hopefully, the test flights will begin before the end of the year, and commercial flights before the end of 2015," Michiel Mol, an XCOR board member, told reporters.

It plans four flights a day and hopes its frequency will eventually give it an edge on Virgin Galactic.

But the new space business is not just about pandering to the whims of the rich, it also hopes to address a market for launching smaller satellites that weigh less than 250 kilograms (550 pounds).

"There is no dedicated launcher for small satellites," said Rachel Villain of Euroconsult, a global consulting firm specialising in space markets.

"Everyone has been looking for years for the Holy Grail of how to reduce costs, other than to send them as passengers on big launchers."

Virtual photo of XCOR Aerospace's Lynx during a press conference in Beverly Hills, California, on December 2, 2008

'Smarter, cheaper, reusable'
"These new players are revolutionising the launch market," said aeronautical expert Philippe Boissat of consultants Deloitte.

"They are smarter, cheaper, and they are reusable and don't leave debris in space."

Which is exactly what one newcomer, Swiss Space Systems (S3), proposes. With a shuttle on the back of an EADS Airbus A300, its founder Pascal Jaussi wants to start launching satellites before going into intercontinental passenger flights.


The 37-year-old former test pilot claims he can cut the price of a 250-kilogram satellite launch to eight million euros (almost $11 million), a quarter of what it now costs.

"Satellite makers wanting to launch groups of weather and surveillance satellites have already filled our order books," he said.

The first test flights are planned for the end of 2017, and the first satellite launches will begin at the end of the following year from a base in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off northwest Africa.

For passenger travel, the new space companies have to be passed by the regulators who currently control air travel.

At the moment a passenger plane covers the 5,800 kilometres (3,600 miles) between Paris and New York in seven hours. At Mach3 speed, the S3 shuttle will do the same trip in one-and-a-half hours.

"We hope to have a ticket price comparable to a first-class transatlantic fare. It should never be more than 30,000 Swiss francs (24,700 euros, $33,100)," he said.

Boissat of Deloitte is already looking further ahead.

"These suborbital flights will produce a new generation of fighter pilots at the controls of space shuttles sent up to protect satellites or neutralise ones that pose a threat," he predicted.

XCOR Raises Investment Capital Led by Dutch Investors SXC

XCOR Aerospace reports 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."

Lynx with Dorsal payload Pod showing ATSA Telescope Payload

Lynx with Dorsal payload Pod showing ATSA Telescope Payload (Lynx Mk. III USA only). 

Credit: XCOR Aerospace

In an old World War II-era hangar here in this blistering-hot town, a passionate group of young aerospace engineers is building a private spaceship called Lynx. 

Developed by XCOR Aerospace, Lynx is the main competitor of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, built by Scaled Composites, also in Mojave.

Commercial flights of the Lynx space plane are expected to commence in 2015, mainly through the Dutch company Space Expedition Corporation.

XCOR's CEO Jeff Greason.

ROCKET SCIENCE XCOR Aerospace Announces Significant Propulsion Milestone on Lynx Suborbital Vehicle

67 second engine test featuring XCOR's 2,500 lb-thrust Lynx main engine (one out of four engines). 

This engine is fed entirely by XCOR's revolutionary rocket propellant piston pumps, which are far more cost effective and manufacturable than turbopumps. 

Both the liquid oxygen oxydizer and kerosene fuel are being pumped into the engine using this techonology. For more information, see our press release at XCOR

XCOR Aerospace has announced a first in aviation and space history, the firing of a full piston pump-powered rocket engine. This breakthrough is the foundation for fully reusable spacecraft that can fly multiple times per day, every day.

It is a game changing technology that has the power to fundamentally alter the way we as a society view, visit, and utilize the abundant resources around our planet and in our solar system.

The initial portion of XCOR's pump test program culminated in a 67-second engine run with the propulsion system mated to the flight weight Lynx fuselage.

After the installation of the flight sized liquid oxygen tank, the next test sequence will extend the engine run duration to the full powered flight duration of the Lynx Mark I suborbital vehicle.

"Through use of our proprietary rocket propellant piston pumps we deliver both kerosene and liquid oxygen to our rocket engines and eliminate the need for heavy, high-pressure fuel and oxidizer tanks. It also enables our propulsion system to fly multiple times per day and last for tens of thousands of flights," said XCOR Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason.

"This is one more step toward a significant reduction in per-flight cost and turnaround time, while increasing overall flight safety."

Boeing provided additional funding to complete the XCOR test sequence and advance low-cost rocket propulsion technology. The demonstrated results of the full pump fed engine firing for extended periods helps to ensure the technology migrates into broader global applications.

"Unlike the expensive and finicky turbopumps on today's rocket propulsion systems, XCOR's piston pumps are designed to be as powerful in their thrust class as turbines, but as easy to manufacture, maintain and operate as an automotive engine," said XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson.

"This is the culmination of a 12 year program to develop this unique technology. The kerosene piston pump has been successfully flight-proven during our 40-flight test program on the X-Racer aircraft. We'll be entering another flight test program soon with Lynx and these pumps and engines will power XCOR and the industry to the next level."

Space Tourism: An Update

With the age of suborbital tourism beckoning, hundreds of wealthy people have signed up to take rides to the edge of space, a trip that will end almost as soon as it begins, but should confer serious bragging rights when the talk turns to summer vacations.

Of course, if just experiencing weightlessness is your goal, you can already do it for far less than Virgin Galactic’s $200,000 ticket price—but only in 30-second bursts.

Inside a modified Boeing 727 operated by Zero Gravity Corporation, adventure tourists can spend a few thousand dollars to get a taste of weightlessness and sample lunar and Martian gravity as the airplane flies repeated roller-coaster-like parabolas.

During their half-minutes of reduced gravity they can float, tumble, even get married. But there’s no view of Earth, and it’s more like an amusement park ride than a rocket launch.

The suborbital spaceships now on the drawing boards will carry tourists to the edge of space (traditionally set at 100 kilometers, or 62 miles altitude), but not so high or fast that they go into orbit.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo will provide up to six minutes of weightlessness, while Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR, and various other companies will make you feel weightless for about three minutes.

Since XCOR’s Lynx spacecraft holds just a pilot and one passenger in a tiny side-by-side cockpit, the company has decided that passengers will remain strapped in for the whole trip—just as Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom did during their 15-minute suborbital missions to test out NASA’s new Mercury spacecraft in 1961.

Other companies have released animations showing passengers unstrapping from their couches, floating around in weightlessness, then returning to their couches before atmospheric reentry.

XCOR thinks that’s a bad idea.

“Unstrapping and re-strapping in such a short time frame would be a risky endeavour,” says the company’s communications representative, Mike Masse. He believes that passengers will be so engrossed by the spectacular view that they won’t mind being confined to their couches.

Read More here: AirSpaceMag

The Lynx Supersonic Wind Tunnel Model

The Lynx Supersonic Wind Tunnel Model positioned In the MSFC wind tunnel

XCOR Aerospace has announced they have completed the primary supersonic wind tunnel testing of the Lynx suborbital spacecraft. The tests were performed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) using a precision scale model and demonstrated the integrity of the Lynx aerodynamic shape and provided data to make final refinements to the vehicle.

These new data provide confidence that the Lynx aerodynamic shape will have stable and controllable flight throughout the range of Mach numbers and angles of attack needed for the Lynx mission.

The recent tests add to subsonic wind tunnel testing data obtained by XCOR late last year at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton. As part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), XCOR, NASA and the Air Force will all benefit from the data. The tests are a joint effort between XCOR and the AFRL's Air Vehicles Directorate.

Lynx is a two-seat, single-stage winged suborbital vehicle that lifts off from a runway powered by non-toxic, reusable rocket engines. The vehicle can carry safely to the edge of space and back a pilot, one spaceflight participant, and engineering and scientific payloads. The Lynx can be flown up to four times a day with minimal touch labor between flights.