XCOR Aerospace has revealed the top-secret test vehicle they’ve been using to test the piston-pump technology that’s being used in the Lynx spaceplane.

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XCOR chief engineer Dan DeLong says, “We debated how best to put many hours of wear time on the critical bearing components of our rocket propellant piston pump, that are subject to significant wear and tear. This particular motorcycle, the Triumph Street Triple, develops about the same horsepower and has the same cylinder arrangement as the liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel pumps for the Lynx suborbital spacecraft. That makes it ideal for a long-life pump test platform. The bike is much less expensive to operate than the full up rocket pump test stand.  We’re adding hours of run time each ride, not just minutes.”

The motorcycle was customized for the XCOR rocket piston pump technology, then shipped to Motion Performance in Roswell. In Roswell, XCOR engineers finished modifying and testing the bike for a drive back to Mojave. The XCOR team made presentations with the bike at local schools, then received a send-off by Roswell Mayor Del Jurney and members of the Roswell-Chaves County Economic Development Corporation. Appropriately, the drive to Mojave started at the Robert Goddard Museum, which honors the father of modern liquid rocketry and his early pioneering work in Roswell.

Dan DeLong says, “We put twenty hours – the equivalent of 400 Lynx flights – on the rocket pump bearings by driving from Roswell to Mojave taking periodic data readings along the way to make sure things were in good condition. The trip was a great success and the bike performed flawlessly.  Plus we got to drive through some of the most spectacular parts of the American Southwest.”

The novel test vehicle actually saved XCOR money. Chief operating officer Andrew Nelson says, “This test would have cost us over $500 per minute had we operated it on a traditional pump test stand. The entire trip represented about half a million dollars in net savings in both time and money for the company.  More importantly, it validated that our critical pump subassemblies will have the ultra-long life needed to meet the safety needs of our customers and a vehicle that is designed to fly thousands of times over many years. Oh, and everyone had a lot of fun along the way.”

XCOR Senior Engineer and principal driver Mike Valant says the team saw some amazing country. “We traveled through New Mexico, passing the Very Large [radiotelescope] Array, then turned northwards to Route 66, traveling as much of the old highway as possible. Meteor Crater was a highlight, as well as the towns of Holbrook, Seligman, Kingman, Oatman, all the classic waypoints on the Mother Road. We drove through sun, snow, rain and everything in-between.  Personally for me, it was one of the greatest adventures I’ve had.  It was challenging, and there was a lot of payoff. In addition to keeping the bike on the road through all the weather, we had to pay attention to how it was behaving and make sure there was no trouble.”

Dan DeLong says, “The data show no discernible difference in bearing wear between when we started and when we finished. I call that a success.”