XCOR Aerospace, Inc. has successfully completed its first test fire of the rocket engine that will be used to power its Lynx suborbital launch vehicle to the edge of space.

The new engine, designated the 5K18, produces between 2500-2900 lbf thrust by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene. The engine was fired Monday, December 15th, 2008, at XCOR’s rocket test facility located at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The first test of the engine was performed using pressure-fed propellants, whereas the final version of the engine will be fed using XCOR’s proprietary cryogenic piston pump for liquid oxygen and a similar piston pump for kerosene. During its nine years of existence, XCOR has conducted more than 3,600 hot fires of rocket engines. During this time, XCOR has built, test-fired, and flown many different engines. The 5K18 is the 11th engine design XCOR has built and fired. All have had perfect safety records. XCOR has not had a single lost time injury due to engine operations during its nine years of existence. It has also never seen one of its engines wear out. XCOR’s experience also includes building rocket-powered vehicles. The company has already developed and safely flown two generations of rocket-powered aircraft. Overall, the firm has flown these vehicles 66 times, and XCOR alone accounts for more than half of all manned rocket-powered flights in the 21st century. The Lynx will mark the company’s third rocket-powered vehicle, and the first designed for space access. The Lynx will use four of the 5K18 engines to carry people or payloads to the edge of space. Earlier this month, XCOR announced that RocketShip Tours, of Phoenix, Arizona, has begun sales of tickets for suborbital flights on the Lynx. Tickets will sell for $95,000. RocketShip Tours can be contacted via its website.

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