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XCOR Lynx

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File:Lynx suborbital ascent.jpg
The Lynx rocketplane in flight (artists' conception) - XCOR Aerospace

The Lynx rocketplane is a suborbital horizontal-takeoff, horizontal-landing (HTHL),[1] rocket-powered spaceplane being developed by the California-based company XCOR to compete in the emerging suborbital space flight market. The Lynx is projected to carry one pilot, a ticketed passenger, and/or a payload or small satellites above 100 km altitude. As of December 2008, the passenger ticket was to cost $95,000.[2] The Lynx was initially announced on March 26, 2008, with plans for an operational vehicle within two years.[3] That date has since fallen to early 2012.[4] The Mark II would fly nine to eighteen months afterwords depending on how fast the prototype moves through the test program.[5]

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 produce 2,900 pounds-force (13,000 N) of thrust.[5]

Mark I Prototype

  • Maximum Altitude: 62 km (203,000 ft)[5]
  • Primary Internal Payload: 120 kg (260 lb)[5]
  • External Dorsal Mounted Pod: 280 kg (620 lb)[5]
  • Secondary payload spaces include a small area inside the cockpit behind the pilot or outside the vehicle in two areas in the aft fuselage fairing.[5]

Mark II Production Model

  • Maximum Altitude: +100 km (330,000 ft)[5]
  • Primary Internal Payload: 120 kg (260 lb)[5]
  • External Dorsal Mounted Pod: 650 kg (1,430 lb) and is large enough to hold a two stage carrier to launch a microsatellite or multiple nanosatellites into low Earth orbit.[5]
  • Secondary payload spaces include the same as the Mark I.[5]
  • Non-toxic (non-hydrazine) reaction control system (RCS) thrusters,[6] type 3N22[7]

Lynx XR-5K18 engine

The development program of the XCOR Lynx 5K18 LOX/kerosene engine reached a major milestone in March 2011. Integrated test firings of the engine/nozzle combination have 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."[8] Importantly, the 5K18 engine tests have "laid a foundation for scaling the design to EELV-sized engines"[8]

In March 2011, United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced they had entered into a joint-development contract with XCOR for a flight-ready, 25,000 to 30,000 pounds-force (110,000–130,000 N) cryogenic LH2/LOX upper-stage rocket engine (see XCOR/ULA liquid-hydrogen, upper-stage engine development project). Partially as a result of positive results achieved from Lynx 5K18 effort to develop a new aluminium alloy engine nozzle using new manufacturing techniques, ULA believes the new engine technology will shave 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.[9]

Test program

Tests of the XR-5K18 main engine began in 2008[10] and, as of February 2011, are largely complete.[6]

As of February 2011, the vehicle aerodynamic design has completed two rounds of wind tunnel testing. A third and final round of tests is planned for later in 2011.[6] The tests were completed using a "1/60-scale supersonic wind tunnel model of Lynx."[11]

Flight tests of the Mark I prototype are expected to start in early 2012.[4]

Operations

File:08-03-20 lynx ground v02.jpg
Artists' depiction of Lynx on ground with people - XCOR Aerospace

The first engine hot fire tests were conducted on December 15, 2008.[5] Wind tunnel tests were conducted in July 2009.[12]

NASA sRLV program

As of March 2011, XCOR has submitted the Lynx as a reusable launch vehicle for carrying research payloads in response to NASA's suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV) solicitation, which is a part of NASA's Flight Operations Program. XCOR projects 110 km (68 mi) altitude in flights of 30 to 45 minutes duration, while carrying up to 140 kg (310 lb) internal—or 650 kg (1,430 lb) external—of research payload. Flights will provide up to three minutes of microgravity below 0.01 g[1]

Commercial operations

According to XCOR, the Lynx will fly four or more times a day, and will also have the capacity to deliver payloads into space. A Lynx prototype called Mark I is expected to perform its first test flight in early 2011, followed with a flight of the Mark II production model nine to eighteen months after.[5] XCOR currently plans to have the Lynx's initial flights from the Mojave Air and Spaceport in Mojave, California[13] or any licensed spaceport with a 2,400 meter (7900 ft) runway. Beginning in January, 2014 the Lynx is expected to be flying suborbital space tourism flights and scientific research missions from a new spaceport on the Caribbean island of Curaçao.[14][15]

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 (42 km) and Mach 2. The spaceplane will then continue to climb, unpowered until it reaches an apogee of approximately 200,000 feet (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.[16] The Lynx is expected to be able to perform 40 flights before maintenance is required.

The occupants would wear pressure suits made by Orbital Outfitters.[5]

The successor to the Mark II is planned to be a two stage fully-reusable orbital vehicle that takes off and lands horizontally.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "sRLV platforms compared". NASA. 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2011-03-10. Lynx: Type: HTHL/Piloted
  2. ^ "Press Reacts to RocketShip Tours". Satnews Daily. December 12, 2008. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  3. ^ XCOR AEROSPACE SUBORBITAL VEHICLE TO FLY WITHIN TWO YEARS
  4. ^ a b "Countdown has begin for SXC". Space Expedition Curacao. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Lynx Suborbital Spacecraft". XCOR Aerospace. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Foust, Jeff (2011-02-28). "Suborbital back out of the shadows". The Space Review. Retrieved 2011-02-28. the 5K18 engine, four of which will power the Lynx ... the last few technical milestones for the engine are largely complete. ... non-toxic reaction control system (RCS) thrusters, a project that Greason said was more challenging in some respects than the larger main engine, but critical to the company's vision of rapid turnaround times that would not be possible if conventional hydrazine RCS systems are used. The Lynx design has been through two rounds of wind tunnel tests, with a final round planned for later this year for some final tweaks
  7. ^ Suborbital Provider Session, NSRC 2011, accessed 2011-03-01.
  8. ^ a b "XCOR and ULA Demonstrate Revolutionary Rocket Engine Nozzle Technology; Also Sign Contract for Liquid Hydrogen Engine Development". press release. XCOR Aerospace. 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ Morring, Frank, Jr. (2011-03-23). "ULA, XCOR to Develop Upper-Stage Engine". Aviation Week. Retrieved 2011-03-25. 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, using technology XCOR is developing for its planned Lynx suborbital spaceplane. The two companies have been testing actively cooled aluminum nozzles XCOR is developing for its liquid oxygen/kerosene 5K18 engine for the Lynx, a reusable two-seat piloted vehicle the company plans to use for commercial research and tourist flights.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "XCOR Aerospace Completes Successful First Test Fire of Engine for Lynx Suborbital Launch Vehicle". XCOR Aerospace.
  11. ^ Joiner, Stephen (2011-05-01). "The Mojave Launch Lab". Air & Space Smithsonian. Retrieved 2011-03-18 (online precedes the print edition date). a 4-G pullout and a circling, dead-stick reentry. ... a 1/60-scale supersonic wind tunnel model of Lynx. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  12. ^ XCOR Aerospace Tests Lynx Aerodynamic Design in USAF Wind Tunnel
  13. ^ "XCOR Unveils New Suborbital Rocketship". SPACE.com.
  14. ^ Staff writers (October 6, 2010). "Space Experience Curacao Announces Wet Lease of XCOR Lynx Suborbital". Space Media Network Promotions. Space-Travel.com. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  15. ^ "Space Experience Curacao". Home. Space Experience Curacao. 2009–2010. Retrieved 2010-10-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  16. ^ "Lynx flight profile" (PDF). XCOR Aerospace.
  17. ^ Aero-TV: XCOR Aerospace -- An Innovative Route To Space (Part 2)

External links

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