Citizens in Space at MakerCon to debut space experiment carrier for XCOR Lynx

Here’s a follow-up to the recent news from Citizens in Space about their newly developed experiment payload rack for the XCOR Lynx:

New Space Research Platform Will Be Unveiled at MakerCon

Redwood City, CA (May 8, 2013) – A new research platform that promises to dramatically reduce the cost of access to space for small scientific and education payloads will be publicly unveiled at MakerCon, which takes place at the Oracle Conference Center in Redwood City next week.

The Lynx Cub Payload Carrier, developed by the United States Rocket Academy, Texas A&M University, and the Space Engineering Research Center (a Texas state agency) will fly on the XCOR Lynx spacecraft. A fully reusable, piloted, suborbital spacecraft, Lynx is designed to fly four times a day. The Lynx Cub Payload Carrier will fit behind the pilot’s seat and carry up to 15 small experiments on each flight.

The Lynx Cub Carrier will be unveiled by United States Rocket Academy founder Edward Wright during a presentation on “Citizen Science and Citizen Space Exploration.” The presentation takes place on Tuesday, May 13 at 2:55-3:15 PM, in  Room 102/103 of the Oracle Conference Center.

“The Lynx spacecraft is now under construction at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California,” Wright said. “XCOR Aerospace expects to begin flight tests later this year.

“The Cub Carrier can be installed and removed quickly for frequent, low-cost flight opportunities. The Lynx Cub Carrier is an ideal platform for small materials-processing, fluid-physics, life-science, and engineering experiments. University teaching and research, K-12 education, citizen science, government and industrial R&D will all benefit from the convenient simple interfaces, rapid integration, and affordability of Lynx Cub experiments. We are pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this exciting platform to the audience at MakerCon.”

MakerCon is a premiere event organized by Maker Media, publisher of Make magazine and producer of Maker Faire.

MakerCon brings together the leaders at the forefront of the maker movement. The conference provides new insights into local and global manufacturing, design, marketing and distribution, and diverse funding options to help makers bring their products to market.

MakerCon is presented by Intel and hosted by Oracle Corporation. More information, including a complete list of speakers, is available at www.makercon.com. Registration is available at www.makercon.com/attend.

Additional information about Citizens in Space can be found at www.citizensinspace.org.