New Home Will Be In Midland, TX

As XCOR moves closer to flight testing for its Lynx spacecraft, the company has set a course southeast from Mojave, CA to Midland, TX.

An enterprise report appearing in the Kern County Golden Empire newspaper reviews the development that has been planned for some time. Texas Governor Rick Perry wooed XCOR from California to Texas in 2012. XCOR CEO Jeff Greason told the paper that the primary reason is the regulatory burden in California. "It wasn't just one thing. It's more a slow drip of every couple of months there's something new you have to deal with," he said.

XCOR employs about 80 people in Mojave. And while the loss of the company is not a major hit to the estimated 20 thousand that are employed by the aerospace industry in Kern County, it is enough to cause Mojave Air and Space Port CEO Stu Witt to travel several times to the state capital of Sacramento to encourage lawmakers to nurture the county's growing aerospace sector. But he said he's never had a meeting with the state's Governor.

Witt won't be far behind XCOR in leaving Mojave. He's retiring from the post at the end of the year.

(Image from file)

FMI: http://mojaveairport.com/