This personal transport will take you to into space for around 25 minutes.
The Lynx, about the size of a small private plane, is expected to begin flying in 2010, according to developer Xcor Aerospace.
Xcor’s announcement comes two months after aerospace designer Burt Rutan and billionaire Richard Branson unveiled a model of SpaceShipTwo, which is being built for Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company and may begin test flights this year.
Xcor intends to be a spaceship builder, with another company operating the Lynx and setting prices.
The Lynx is designed to take off from a runway like a normal plane, reach a top speed of Mach 2 and an altitude of 200,000 feet, then descend in a circling glide to a runway landing.
“We have designed this vehicle to operate much like a commercial aircraft,” Xcor Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason said in a statement.
Greason said the Lynx will provide affordable access to space for individuals and researchers, and future versions will offer improved capabilities for research and commercial uses.
This certainly beats having a Lear Jet – although as it’s a ’sports car’ for space there’s only room for 2 people, or 1 person and luggage?
Related posts:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The recent developments in aerospace engineering is truly amazing. Personal space travel is sure to catch up with millionaires who are on a spending spree.
Vanessa @ Future of Commercial Space Travel – Predictions, Companies, Technologies
I think that it would be short-sighted to ignore the commercial possibilities of space-travel in the not-so-distant future.
Thanks for reading :0)
J