XCOR Holds “Wall Breaking” Ceremony in Midland, Texas

Credit: XCOR Aerospace

XCOR held a “wall breaking” ceremony in Midland, Texas to commemorate the start of renovations to the hanger which will house the Lynx spaceplane. The complete press release is below. As an aside, is an actual race shaping up between XCOR and Virgin Galactic?

Begin XCOR Press Release

XCOR Breaking Down Walls with Midland – One Step Closer to Space
Wall Breaking Ceremony Marks Start of Hangar Renovation
August 15, 2014, Midland, Texas – At 10am this morning, just feet from the runway which will rocket XCOR® Lynx® customers to space and back, Midland Development Corporation and XCOR Aerospace invited local officials, contractors, Midland residents and local press to attend the kickoff of new renovations on the XCOR hangar with a ceremonial wall breaking inside of XCOR’s Commercial Spaceflight Research and Development Center Headquarters at Midland International Airport (MAF).

The start of hangar construction brought to mind prior eras of exploration for XCOR Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason. “Midland stands at the heart of the American frontier,” Greason noted, “It is a symbol of the American West. As the first tenant in the commercial space industry to plant our home here we are honored to expand those opportunities not westward, but upward.” Added Greason, “It takes courage and vision to grasp the future. We applaud the City and County leaders who have come here to help us break down these walls and build a new space frontier. It is truly an honor to be here with them today.”

Joining in the Wall Breaking Ceremony were: Robert Rendall, Chairman and Pam Welch, Executive Director from the Midland Development Corporation; Midland City Mayor Jerry Morales; J. Ross Lacy and the Midland City Council; Chairman John B. Love III and the Midland Spaceport Development Board; Robin Donnelly and the Midland County Commissioners; Marv Esterly and the Midland International Airport team; John Ohnemiller representing the City of Midland; and Chuck Sturgeon from construction firm, N.C. Sturgeon.

Spaceport Development Board Chairman and Midland Mayor Pro Tem, John B. Love III noted, “We look forward to the transformation of Midland International Airport into the ‘Midland International Air and Spaceport’. This is truly an exciting day for Midland.”

“While XCOR is on pace to be the ‘most active spaceflight company in the world’, the natural outcome will be that Midland will be known as the most active spaceport in the world,” said Midland Development Corporation Chairman Robert Rendall. Federal Aviation Administration spaceport license approval is expected to be finalized in September.

“As XCOR commences the Lynx flight test program this winter, the hangar construction signals the end of the beginning for our team. The next step is to get Lynx flying,” said XCOR President Andrew Nelson.

The XCOR hangar will become the home of the first XCOR Lynx suborbital spacecraft, XCOR’s corporate headquarters, and its research and development facilities.

Hangar renovations are expected to commence immediately by local construction firm N.C. Sturgeon, with completion of hangar renovations by early summer of 2015.