XCOR Aerospace, the space tourism outfit that once vied with Virgin Galactic to be the first to carry tourists into suborbital space on regular flights of its Lynx space plane, is on the point of folding. Having already laid off of half of its 60 employees in 2016, the company has announced, via Space News, that its remaining workforce is being let go.
The company will remain instituted for legal reasons and in the slim hope that it might be resuscitated, with some key positions still occupied. But for all other intents and purposes XCOR Aerospace is now moribund. The company complained that its poor financial situation was the root cause of its funding failure.
XCOR Aerospace is yet another “new space” launch venture to have failed recently as it joins the Swiss S3, and the USA’s failed operations, Firefly, Armadillo Aerospace and Rocketplane Global. The full story on Space News is here.
Later Marks of the XCOR Lynx space plane were to carry an expendable upper stage for small satellite launches. Courtesy: XCOR
