Private Space Plane Builders Pick Texas for Test Site

CREDIT: XCOR Aerospace

A rocket-building company that is designing a suborbital space plane for paid trips to the edge of space  will be opening a test facility in Texas, the company says.

The Mojave, Calif.-based XCOR Aerospace and the Midland Development Corporation unveiled plans for XCOR’s new Commercial Space Research and Development Center Headquarters in Midland, Texas. The facility will be used to test XCOR’s Lynx space plane, a winged spaceship that is designed to carry two passengers and science experiments to the edge of space.

“We are pleased to be establishing our R&D Center in Midland, Texas, where the weather, surrounding landscape, the airport, and the local & state government environment are ideally situated for the future growth and the ultimate realization of a fully reusable orbital system,” – Andrew Nelson