Lynx rocketplane
Encyclopedia
rocket-powered
Rocket-powered aircraft
A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typically for at most a few minutes of powered operation, followed by a...
spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
being developed by the California-based company XCOR to compete in the emerging
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
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. , the passenger ticket was to cost $95,000.
The Lynx was initially announced on March 26, 2008, with plans for an operational vehicle within two years.
That date has since fallen to fall 2012. The Mark II would fly nine to eighteen months afterwards depending on how fast the prototype moves through the test program.
Description
The Lynx will have four liquid rocket engines at the rear of the fuselageFuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
burning a mixture of LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
-Kerosene
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
and each of them will produce 2900 pound-forces (12,899.8 N) of thrust.
Mark I Prototype
- Maximum Altitude: 62 km (203,412.1 ft)
- Primary Internal Payload: 120 kg (264.6 lb)
- External Dorsal Mounted Pod: 280 kg (617.3 lb)
- 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.
Mark II Production Model
- Maximum Altitude: +100 km (328,084 ft)
- Primary Internal Payload: 120 kg (264.6 lb)
- External Dorsal Mounted Pod: 650 kg (1,433 lb) and is large enough to hold a two stage carrier to launch a microsatellite or multiple nanosatellites into low Earth orbit.
- Secondary payload spaces include the same as the Mark I.
- Non-toxicNitrous oxide fuel blendNitrous Oxide Fuel Blend propellants are a class of liquid rocket propellants. The fuel and oxidizer are blended and stored, and are sometimes referred to as 'mixed monopropellants'. Upon use, the propellant is heated or passed over a catalyst bed and the Nitrous oxide decompose into oxygen-rich...
(non-hydrazineHydrazineHydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
) reaction control systemReaction control systemA reaction control system is a subsystem of a spacecraft whose purpose is attitude control and steering by the use of thrusters. An RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow...
(RCS) thrusters, type 3N22
Lynx XR-5K18 engine
The development program of the XCOR Lynx 5K18 LOXLox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
/kerosene
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
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."
Importantly, the 5K18 engine tests have "laid a foundation for scaling the design to EELV-sized engines"
In March 2011, United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. U.S...
(ULA) announced they had entered into a joint-development contract with XCOR for a flight-ready, 25000 to 30000 lbf (111,205.5 to 133,446.6 N) cryogenic LH2/LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
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
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
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.
Test program
Tests of the XR-5K18 main engine began in 2008and, , are largely complete.
, 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.
The tests were completed using a "1/60-scale supersonic wind tunnel model of Lynx."
Flight tests of the Mark I prototype are expected to start in fall of 2012.
Operations
NASA sRLV program
, XCOR has submitted the Lynx as a reusable launch vehicle for carrying research payloads in response to NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV) solicitation, which is a part of NASA's Flight Operations Program. XCOR projects 110 km (68.4 mi) altitude in flights of 30 to 45 minutes duration, while carrying up to 140 kg (308.6 lb) internal—or 650 kg (1,433 lb) external—of research payload. Flights will provide up to three minutes of microgravity below
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 fall of 2012, followed with a flight of the Mark II production model nine to eighteen months after.XCOR currently plans to have the Lynx's initial flights from the Mojave Air and Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport
thumb|right|235px|A retired [[Boeing 767-200]] that flew for [[Ansett Australia]] being cut open for scrap at Mojave AirportThe Mojave Air and Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of...
in Mojave, California
Mojave, California
Mojave is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2762 feet...
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
Space tourism
Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
flights and scientific research missions from a new spaceport
Spaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories...
on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
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
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2. The spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
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
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
. 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. 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.
The successor to the Mark II is planned to be a two stage fully reusable orbital vehicle that takes off and lands horizontally.
See also
- Xerus (spaceplane)Xerus (spaceplane)Xerus , was a suborbital spaceplane concept proposed by XCOR Aerospace. It would be capable of transporting one pilot and one passenger as well as some science experiments and it would even be capable of carrying an upper stage which would launch near apogee and therefore would potentially be able...
- XCOR EZ-RocketXCOR EZ-RocketThe XCOR EZ-Rocket is a test platform for the XCOR rocket propulsion system. The plane is a modified Rutan Long-EZ, with the propeller replaced by first one, then a pair of pressure-fed regeneratively cooled liquid-fuelled rocket engines and an underslung rocket-fuel tank. The engines are...
- XCOR Mark-I X-Racer
- Private spaceflightPrivate spaceflightPrivate spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...