With more money than ever chasing investment opportunities, many companies such as XCOR Aerospace are casting about for paying clients who want a shiny new rocket in their garage.

Formed and operated by former employees of such companies as Rotary Rocket, XCOR typifies the spirit of innovation infusing the space development industry today. It also typifies some of the obstacles. XCOR's first project is NeX-1, a replica of the Bell X-1 that Chuck Yeager first drove through the sound barrier.

Unlike some of the larger ventures, the NeX-1 project is not aiming for the stars, or even for orbit. It is intended to be merely a working replica, to be shown at airshows. According to Greason, the price tag for the project is entirely within reach of a small, working consortium of aircraft enthusiasts: "$100,000 is a significant fraction of the entire budget."

There are many such ventures starting, ranging from the StarChaser project in the UK up to the more established (and better financed) Kistler Aerospace, which has already broken ground for a new launch facility in Australia.

Unfortunately, almost all of these newcomers to the space scene are finding it hard to translate their plans into products. Several have already approached the US government for more favorable tax conditions, and work on some of their vehicles has slowed to a halt. Others, such as Beal Aerospace, are financed to high degree by wealthy individual investors.

Smaller ventures such as StarChaser and XCOR have an advantage in they can rely on volunteer labor for some of their projects, translating individual enthusiasm into corporate progress. "After the first [engine] is built," said Greason, "the rest come easier." XCOR is focusing on re-creating the rocket motor that propelled the X-1 into history: the XLR-11.

A proven design, the XLR-11 could be throttled and provided 6000 lb (27 kN) of thrust. XCOR plans on retaining the basic design, while making some modernization's, such as replacing the leather (!) gaskets with Teflon seals. XCOR plans on focusing on proven technologies, and avoiding some of the unnecessarily tricky ones, such as hypergolic fuels. "I just don't like to work with those," said Greason.

The turn of the century will prove a telling time for young rocket companies such as XCOR. Predictions are placing the space tourism industry in a growth position for the new millennium. If personal wealth continues to grow, and economic growth holds, we may well be seeing XCOR's stylized logo rising through the clouds on a privately-owned bullet-shaped spacecraft. As status-symbols go, it sure beats a Beemer.

Starchaser

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