XCOR Aerospace has announced plans to launch a suborbital vehicle by 2014. The spaceflight development company, based in Mojave, Calif., is building a rocket-powered craft called the Lynx, which they say will transport passengers to altitudes exceeding 62 miles, MSNBC reports.
Andrew Nelson, XCOR’s chief operating officer, called the project “the dawn of a new space age.” “The old ways of government-designed space exploration are slowly drifting away, and a new commercial space industry is being born right before you,” he said. A trip to suborbital space in the two-seater Lynx will cost $95,000, including pre-flight training sessions for passengers. Virgin Galactic, XCOR’s competitor, charges $200,000 for a ride aboard its SpaceShipTwo suborbital ship.
