XCOR and Excalibur Almaz sign MOU for suborbital training services

LONDON, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA), a commercial aerospace company based on the Isle of Man, British Isles, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with California-based XCOR Aerospace for suborbital flight services. The agreement signed in conjunction with the Royal Aeronautical Society's 3rd European Space Tourism Conference calls for XCOR to provide suborbital flight familiarization and training using its Lynx vehicle for Excalibur Almaz crews traveling on Earth orbit, circumlunar, and deep space missions.

"Suborbital flight experience will serve as an integral preparatory step for the safety, education and enjoyment of our customers traveling on crew expedition missions," said Art Dula, Excalibur Almaz Founder and Chairman. "The XCOR flights will enhance the overall spaceflight experience of our program and will help ensure that our passengers are both mission and medically qualified to fly in space."

"The Lynx is uniquely suited for the orbital manned space flight training market," said Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR Aerospace. "Being able to tailor each Lynx flight to the needs of the participant, scientist and/or orbital astronaut trainee, and then flying those missions up to four times per day for a price that is less than one sixth the main competitor, now that is a significant benefit to the customer."

XCOR Aerospace is developing the world's first reliable, fully reusable, high performance winged piloted launch vehicle called Lynx for suborbital flights. The company's schedule calls for a first Lynx flight later this year or in early 2013, expanding to several missions per day by 2015. XCOR's suborbital flights will be included as a requirement in pre-mission training for Excalibur Almaz expeditions, also scheduled to begin as early as 2015. 

For more information or to schedule an interview contact Robert Lazaro, Excalibur Almaz Public Relations Director at [email protected] or Mike Massee, XCOR Media Relations at [email protected].

About XCOR Aerospace
XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California is developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket powered vehicles, propulsion systems, advanced non-flammable composites and other enabling technologies. XCOR is working with aerospace prime contractors and government customers on major propulsion systems and concurrently building the Lynx, a piloted, two-seat, fully reusable, liquid rocket powered suborbital vehicle that takes off and lands horizontally.  It will provide research & scientific missions in additional to private spaceflight. The Lynx production models (designated Lynx Mark II) are designed to be robust, multi-mission commercial vehicles capable of flying to 100+ km in altitude up to four times per day and are being offered on a wet lease basis.

About Excalibur Almaz:
The Excalibur Almaz mission is to become the world leader in providing reliable, affordable and routine commercial access to space.  EA offers a variety of deep space crewed exploration missions, micro-gravity science, and payload delivery.  EA also offers Low Earth Orbit cargo and crew delivery and return.  These missions and services will be effectively accomplished by leveraging proven flight tested products and mature space systems from US, European and Russian space programs to create value through reduction of cost, risk and development time.

SOURCE XCOR Aerospace