Southwest Research Institute And XCOR Partner For Six
Suborbital Research Flights
In a first for the reusable suborbital launch vehicle industry,
XCOR Aerospace announced Thursday that the Southwest Research
Institute (SwRI), a commercial entity, has purchased six suborbital
flights to carry SwRI experiments and payload specialists. This is
the first such contract SwRI has issued, and XCOR is proud to be
chosen for this opportunity.
“When someone issues a commercial contract with their own
money, it really means something,” said XCOR Chief Operating
Officer Andrew Nelson. “XCOR feels SwRI signing their first
contract with us demonstrates the superiority of the Lynx platform
over others in the field. We have the ability to fly up to four
times a day, quickly perform an experiment and then return it to
the customer. In addition, we offer the best price in class versus
the competition.”
Each of the six flights will include a SwRI trained principal
investigator / payload specialist. This group of talented
individuals includes Dr. Alan Stern, former NASA Associate
Administrator for Science, Dr. Dan Durda who has flown research
missions in NASA f-18s and Dr. Cathy Olkin, an experienced SwRI
researcher and former NASA astronaut candidate. On these flights,
the SwRI payload specialists will perform research using
biomedical, microgravity, and astronomy imaging experiments
conceived and prepared for flight at SwRI. SwRI has an option to
purchase three additional flights at any time, providing more value
significant flexibility for experimental research.
“These are exciting times for the suborbital research
field,” said Dr. Stern. “XCOR and SwRI are blazing a
pioneering trail with this engagement and setting the stage for
others to follow with their experiments.”
The capabilities of the Lynx, in particular its responsiveness
and low cost of operation provide SwRI and other clients with an
unprecedented ability for quick turnaround of key experiments or
precious and sensitive samples. Lynx operations will allow customer
experiments to go from a runway-side storage facility to the
vehicle, then fly to space on a customized flight trajectory and
back to an airport-side laboratory in under 30 minutes. The Lynx
offers a level of sample security and assurance not found in other
suborbital systems today, while the cost of a Lynx operation is an
order of magnitude less than traditional sounding rocket
systems.
The Lynx suborbital vehicle is also a robust data collection
system with four distinct payload carrying opportunities as either
primary or secondary payloads, with locations within the
pressurized Lynx cabin or externally exposed to the vacuum of space
and the thin air of the upper atmosphere. Payload mass can range
from under 1 kg to over 650 kg.
“SwRI is a recognized leader in the field,” said
Jeff Greason, XCOR Chief Executive Officer. “They are one of
the best research firms in the world for space science and
engineering, and their researchers have a phenomenal ability to
explore innovative concepts. I look forward to the pioneering work
this partnership will achieve.”