XCOR Lynx: Don’t Sleep on the Space Corvette

Compared to Spaceship Two, Lynx is a dinky little guy, and should prove to be simpler to maintain and operate, meaning faster turnaround. And take this with a grain of salt, but XCOR is estimating first Lynx test flights this year and first paying flights in 2013.

The Lynx has another advantage over SS2 in that it is a single stage vehicle. But it’s interesting to contemplate how it might perform as a second stage… perhaps even carried to altitude by SS2’s White Knight. I suspect a good case could be made for a military mission using a C-130 or C-17 as a carrier aircraft. Haul the Lynx to the proper latitude, launch the Lynx either off the top or beneath a wing, and then capture the Lynx again at the end of the mission. While actually docking the gliding Lynx to the C-17 would be ridiculously challenging, unreeling a tow cable and having the Lynx connect to it probe-and-drogue refueling style might be practical.