Suborbital Vehicle Pressure Vessel To Be Fabricated By AdamWorks

XCOR Aerospace announced Tuesday that the Lynx Mark I suborbital reusable launch vehicle (RLV) carbon fiber cockpit will be manufactured by AdamWorks of Centennial, Colorado. The Lynx Mark I is the prototype of the Lynx family of suborbital RLVs from XCOR Aerospace. The Lynx suborbital vehicles will seat an astronaut pilot and a spaceflight participant, or an astronaut pilot and large scientific payload. A production model of the Lynx, designated "Lynx Mark II" is designed to fly to space up to four times per day with similar payload and significantly improved performance.

The Lynx Mark II is available for wet lease domestically and abroad in the free world by emerging spacelines, private operators and sovereign countries wishing to have their own manned spaceflight program for less cost than a traditional high end business jet. XCOR has already announced the signing of a wet lease definitive agreement for Lynx Mark II operations in the island nation of Curacao and plans for XCOR-led operations at two U.S. sites, Mojave, California and Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, pending final NASA approvals.
 
The Lynx cockpit has been designed by XCOR to rigorous design standards as a comfortable, roomy and safe, pressurized vessel capable of tens of thousands of flights to and from suborbital altitudes exceeding 100 kilometers. The cockpit has undergone an iterative design process by XCOR engineers and outside independent third party structural and thermal analysis experts from Quartus Engineering in San Diego.
 
AdamWorks was selected after a thorough competitive selection process that emphasized past experience, ability to manufacture complex carbon fiber structures used in safety critical pressurized applications, schedule and value. “AdamWorks was enthusiastic and responsive during our selection process and demonstrated through past experience, like the Dream Chaser fuselage/cockpit project, the ability to produce a complex part on time and within budget. We are happy they’ll be working with us to turn our design into reality,” said Jeff Greason, Co-Founder and President of XCOR.

“A total of six firms are planning to build commercial space vehicles, and three of those six companies designing and building commercial space vehicles are AdamWorks customers,” said Kim Madigan, AdamWorks CEO. “XCOR is one of these great space pioneers. We are extremely proud and honored to be partners in this game-changing effort.”

FMI: www.xcor.com