Private Space Plane to Launch from Kennedy Space Center

XCOR Aerospace to fly suborbital vehicles.

Lured by more than $5.7 million in state and local economic incentives and a skilled work force looking for jobs following the retirement of the space shuttles, XCOR Aerospace plans to manufacture and fly Lynx suborbital vehicles from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here.

The Aug. 23 announcement at KSC's Visitor Complex is the second expansion plan unveiled by XCOR in as many months. The privately held firm, currently based in Mojave, Calif., will relocate its headquarters and set up a research and development center in Midland, Texas, leaving only an operations center, and possibly some flight test activities, in Mojave.