New Rocket Engine Milestone For Lynx Suborbital Space Plane Reached

A full piston pump-powered rocket engine prototype was test-fired by XCOR Aerospace, which marks a first in aviation and space history. The company hopes that this breakthrough could be the foundation for fully reusable spacecraft that can fly multiple times per day, every day just like jet planes. If such engines can be built with sufficiently efficient, compared to the current turbo pump powered rocket engines, it could be a game changing technology that would have the power to fundamentally alter the way we as a society view, visit, and utilize the abundant resources around our planet and in our solar system.

The initial portion of XCOR's pump test program culminated in a 67-second engine run with the propulsion system mated to the flight weight Lynx fuselage. The company announced that after the installation of a flight sized liquid oxygen tank, the next test sequence will extend the engine run duration to the full powered flight duration of the Lynx Mark I suborbital vehicle, which is XCOR's testing space plane.

"Through use of our proprietary rocket propellant piston pumps we deliver both kerosene and liquid oxygen to our rocket engines and eliminate the need for heavy, high-pressure fuel and oxidizer tanks. It also enables our propulsion system to fly multiple times per day and last for tens of thousands of flights," said XCOR Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason. "This is one more step toward a significant reduction in per-flight cost and turnaround time, while increasing overall flight safety."

The turbopumps that are used in current rocket engines have a reputation for being extremely hard to design to get optimum performance. Whereas a well-engineered and debugged pump can manage 70-90% efficiency, figures less than half that are not uncommon. Low efficiency may be acceptable in some applications, but in rocketry this is a severe problem. Turbopumps in rockets are important and problematic enough that launch vehicles using one have been caustically described as a 'turbopump with a rocket attached'- up to 55% of the total cost has been ascribed to this area.

"Unlike the expensive and finicky turbopumps on today's rocket propulsion systems, XCOR's piston pumps are designed to be as powerful in their thrust class as turbines, but as easy to manufacture, maintain and operate as an automotive engine," said XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson. "This is the culmination of a 12 year program to develop this unique technology. The kerosene piston pump has been successfully flight-proven during our 40-flight test program on the X-Racer aircraft. We'll be entering another flight test program soon with Lynx and these pumps and engines will power XCOR and the industry to the next level."

Boeing provided additional funding to complete the XCOR test sequence and advance low-cost rocket propulsion technology. The demonstrated results of the full pump fed engine firing for extended periods helps to ensure the technology migrates into broader global applications.