The Lynx

XCOR Aerospace announced last week it is building a suborbital vehicle that will carry payload plus a single passenger. That passenger, however, will sit in what is otherwise the co-pilot's seat, so the view will be spectacular.

The Lynx will be the size of a small airplane, and is designed to give small, private companies, researchers, and educators access to weightlessness. XCOR has nine years of experience building rocket engines, and the engine powering the Lynx will be simple, low mainenance, clean-burning, and able to fly several times a day. Because it will operate in the atmosphere, Lynx will be sleek-- the classic spaceship of the Golden Age of science fiction finally flying.

Lynx is scheduled to begin flying in 2010.