Cozy Dark emerging technology began work in 2010 as a skunkworks-style engineering firm and is registered with CCR and NSPIRES.
Our early engineering & design efforts have focused on orbital debris solutions and electrodynamic tether technology.
Zach Urbina founded Cozy Dark with the cooperation of technical, research, and academic colleagues in the Southern California AeroAstro community.
We also have a growing library of space science talks featuring Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, astrophysicist Sean Carroll and more.
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7 posts tagged XCOR
2012 Spacecraft Technology Expo Lands at the LA Convention Center |
In a city where glamour and fame often capture the media spotlight, it can be easy to forget that modern rocketry first took root in a dusty stretch of dry riverbed in Pasadena, and eventually bloomed into the most ambitious efforts of humankind to date. Last week, in Downtown Los Angeles, the industry leaders and feisty upstarts who continue to carry that proverbial torch gathered to show-off the current capabilities and bold plans for the future at the Spacecraft Technology Expo.
From May 9th through May 10th, the Los Angeles Convention Center played host to the best and the brightest in orbital and suborbital technology. Although there were bigger and more moneyed players in the space game who took out space at the expo, it was small, but determined suborbital flight provider XCOR Aerospace who stole the floor of the convention with a full-scale mock-up of their Lynx spacecraft, a rocket-propelled reusable launch vehicle.
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Additional exhibit’s worthy of mention included Sage Cheshire Aerospace’s Red Bull Stratos capsule, built for the upcoming record-breaking skydive of Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner. Baumgartner recently completed a test jump from 70,000 feet and is sure to make more headlines for both Red Bull and Sage Cheshire as he scales up to an eventual 120,000 ft. jump sometime later this year. - ZU
Outer Space Takes Center Stage At BIL Conference |
The BIL Conference is a fascinating experience. It’s an irreverent riff on TED, and while some people attend both, ALL are truly welcome at BIL. Anyone can walk in and volunteer, or pay the $50 admission, sign up to speak on one of the 5 stages, or just roam around and have fun. It’s like a bunch of the smart folks from Burning Man got together and found a fun way to share knowledge. This is the first year they had a curated Space Stage, where attendees got to hear from people like CEO of Virgin Galactic George Whitesides, Co-founder of SpaceX Tom Mueller, Yuri’s Night co-founder Loretta Whitesides, and many more. Source: Gas 2.0 (http://s.tt/16D3H)
Suborbital Space Research Conference Launches Monday |
Scientists and engineers are gathering in California’s Silicon Valley next week to discuss the research potential of suborbital spaceflight, and one of them will win a free ride in a space plane just for showing up.
The 2012 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC-2012) will take place from Monday to Wednesday (Feb. 27 to 29) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort in Palo Alto. Just before the meeting begins, one lucky attendee will be chosen at random to receive a free trip to suborbital space aboard XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx vehicle. continue reading
XCOR’s Doug Jones at the LA Space Salon |
Known as the Rocket Whisperer, Doug Jones is a Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at XCOR Aerospace. He handles test design and analysis of test results for the company’s liquid rocket engine development and facilitates the development and operation of rocket engine test apparatus. Before joining XCOR, Doug was responsible for sizing the fluid injector elements in Rotary Rocket Company’s (RRC) rocket engine design. Prior to RRC, Doug designed, built, and tested a 400 lb thrust nitrous oxide/propane engine, it’s test facility, and a 300,000 cubic foot balloon system for Vela Technology. Doug also flew multiple times as flight test engineer in the X-Racer rocket powered aircraft! via @SpaceVidCast
Lift-off for the Los Angeles Space Salon |
Last Wednesday night marked the first gathering of the Los Angeles Space Salon, at the Brewery Arts Complex in Lincoln Heights. Organizers Scott Norman (SpaceX), Simone Syed (BIL co-founder), and Michael Clive (XCOR) lured out an extensive cross section of the aerospace community, traveling from San Diego to Mojave, to engage in a vibrant dialogue that featured an opening talk from Virgin Galactic’s Will Pomerantz.
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After an informative and insightful presentation by Pomerantz, the floor was opened to discussion, which ranged from the merits of a post-shuttle NASA to commercial versus government-backed space efforts.
Though professional backgrounds and opinions of attendees varied considerably, all involved seemed to agree that much of the future of space transportation and access hinged upon the success of Elon Musk’s Hawthorne-based commercial rocket endeavor SpaceX, soon expected to fly resupply and crew missions to the International Space Station.
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A notable highlight of the evening was a light verbal skirmish between John Spencer of the Space Tourism Society, who argued that the primary offering to the public should be “the space experience.” Molly McCormick, who splits her time between Raytheon and Orbital Outfitters countered that, “There are real, productive reasons to want to go to space that will benefit everyone. Space is more than an experience; it is a resource. There are things we can do and make in the microgravity of space that are extremely difficult or even impossible to do or make on Earth: exotic materials, precision components, satellites, medicines, etc.”
continue reading | Los Angeles I’m Yours | by Zachary Urbina via pasadenapictures
XCOR Aerospace Opens its Doors |
Nestled along the Mojave Desert horizon of towering white wind turbines and scrub brush live a handful of the New Space companies, set to rise from fledgling upstarts to the next chapter of affordable American space tourism and suborbital science.
One of these upstarts, XCOR Aerospace, currently in development of their suborbital Lynx rocket plane, opened its doors to the public Saturday (Nov. 19) for Mojave Air and Space Port’s Plane Crazy. Guests were treated to a tour of XCOR’s fabrication and design facilities, as well as a static fire of one of the company’s rocket engines.
XCOR holds high hopes for Lynx:
The Lynx is XCOR’s entry into the commercial reusable launch vehicle (RLV) market. This two-seat, piloted space transport vehicle will take humans and payloads on a half-hour suborbital flight to 100 km (330,000 feet) and then return safely to a landing at the takeoff runway.
Like an aircraft, Lynx is a horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing vehicle, but instead of a jet or piston engine, Lynx uses its own fully reusable rocket propulsion system to depart a runway and return safely. This approach is unique compared to most other RLVs in development, such as conventional vertical rocket launches and air-launched winged rocket vehicles “dropped” at altitude from a jet powered mothership.
Mojave Air and Space Port is also home to Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, Masten Space Systems, and Firestar Technologies. [source]
