Continued Successful Testing of High Performance Rocket Engine
Today XCOR Aerospace announced the completion of another successful round of tests on its 1,500 pound thrust liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine. The engine, the XR-4K14, is a prototype of the engines that will soon propel the Mark One Rocket Racer, and thousands of racing fans, into the new sport of rocket racing. Tests are conducted at Mojave Spaceport 90 miles north of Los Angeles, California.
“We have performed multiple runs of increasing duration. This allows us to characterize the engine’s regenerative cooling,” said XCOR CEO Jeff Greason. “The requirements are for a reliable and robust engine. We are on the right track with the workhorse engine for the Rocket Racing League.”
Over the last 10 months XCOR Aerospace has matured the engine materials and design needed for a long duration, reusable rocket engine for the Mark One X-Racer. Derivatives of the engine will be used in XCOR’s future suborbital vehicles.
“After recent test runs, we have shown that the XR-4K14 rocket engine chamber design is sound,” said Doug Jones, XCOR engineer. “It looks and sounds awesome, with a very bright eight-foot rocket exhaust plume!”
The most recent round of tests also reached the milestone of over 2,623 engine firings for XCOR Aerospace, and a total running time of 316 minutes encompassing all XCOR engine types.
“We are elated by the progress made by XCOR, and we cannot wait to showcase the technology for the world to see,” said Granger Whitelaw, CEO of the Rocket Racing League. “Races are slated to begin in late summer 2007 utilizing a fleet of Mark-1 X-Racers.”
XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket engines, rocket propulsion systems, and rocket powered vehicles.
