We have had a really nice string of great job news here on the Space Coast over the past year or so. What even makes the news better is that the jobs that continue to be announced are good high paying jobs for skilled workers who may have formally worked at NASA or the Kennedy Space Center.
The latest press conference (and I think one of the most exciting) was the XCOR Aerospace announcement that they would be coming to the Space Coast and bringing 150 new jobs with them! XCOR intends to use the old shuttle landing strip for up to four flights a day when the aircraft becomes operational around 2014.
Here is what I love about this project: This has the potential to be a true tourist space experience. The idea is to get the four flights per day operational and at some point you and I can take a trip into space!!! The 150 jobs will not only be to run the systems but also to build and assemble the aircraft here in Brevard County. The craft itself looks a bit like a Space Shuttle.
Right now the Lynx spacecraft is a small re-usable two passanger vehicle that will have a specific pre-determined flight profile (see below)...though I hope they will build larger vehicles as time goes on (all here on the Space Coast!). The price will obviously not be cheap (at least at first).
Locals are really excited about the prospect of the Space Coast getting a big boost in tourism from those of us who once dreamed of one day growing up and becoming an Astronaut. While I will likely never work for NASA and come out of a tunnel to board the next generation rocket that will take me to Mars or beyond....maybe I can head into space and look back at the Earth through a little window!
Flight Pofile:
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