XCOR Aerospace Acquires Rotary Rocket Assets

Spaceref ^ | 4/22/02 | XCOR Aerospace

[Brett66]

XCOR Aerospace Acquires Rotary Rocket Assets

XCOR Aerospace announced today that it has acquired selected assets of the Rotary Rocket Company, including the full and exclusive rights to all technology developed by Rotary Rocket. XCOR also acquired patents for various reusable launch vehicle technologies and certain equipment. The exclusive rights to the Rotary Rocket video and photo archive were included in the acquisition.

``Our team worked together for several years prior to starting XCOR. As a result, we are able to effectively incorporate the acquired technology into current projects,'' said XCOR CEO Jeff Greason. The company plans to use some of the Rotary Rocket technology in its own vehicle and engine designs and may also license technology to clients for other projects.

In addition to the patents, a variety of other technological innovations developed at Rotary Rocket were acquired by XCOR. These include designs and test data for high-performance liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engines, composite liquid oxygen tank technology, and rocket engine injector technology.

XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and re-usable rocket engines and rocket powered vehicles.

[Brett66]

Maybe the ROTON will eventually make it to space.

[Brett66]

Ping.

[techcor]

Up next: Spacely Space Sprockets and Cogswell Cogs. And I want the flying car that folds up into a briefcase. And the vacations on the moon.

[boris]

"Maybe the ROTON will eventually make it to space."

I dunno. It comes down real good, but not sure how well it goes up.

Or possibly vice-versa.

[RightWhale]

What will they call it? Rutor?

[The_Victor]

What will they call it? Rutor?

Perhaps the Rotor Rutor.

[Brett66]

the Rotor Rutor

LOL!

[anymouse]

Cool! Been to RR when the flight test vehicle was just pieces of carbon fiber and a test stand engine. Had to sign a non-disclosure, so the rest of the details are not available. Also know the XCOR guys (from even before they were at RR). Glad they were able to pick up the tech from RR, as there was a lot of good stuff there that never got implimented. And XCOR needed some more options to work with than their little "bottle rocket" tied to a light plane. Apparently they found sufficient investment money to meat RR's price. That's good news too.

[NonZeroSum]

Apparently they found sufficient investment money to meat RR's price. That's good news too.

I seriously doubt if they paid cash for it. It was probably a release from liability for the stock, or else they paid in stock or options.

I'm not sure what value this has, other PR, and their ability to now continue to work without having to worry about later claims of infringement on RR intellectual property, since they're the ones who developed it and have it in their heads. It almost certainly doesn't mean that Roton will ever fly.

[anymouse]

It could have been a deal for stock, since the RR creditors know the XCOR principals, but I bet there was some cash exchanged to sweeten the deal.

As for Roton, it might not fly in the RR configuration, but I'm betting that XCOR may migrate towards a HTLV design similar to Roton, since their current approach seems to not inspire the kind of investor excitement they need to fund a production run.

[NonZeroSum]

It could have been a deal for stock, since the RR creditors know the XCOR principals, but I bet there was some cash exchanged to sweeten the deal.

I seriously doubt that. I don't think that XCOR is in a cash-rich situation. When I said it was a deal for stock, I meant in exchange for a release of liability for Rotary Stock that was already owned by XCOR employees. But this is all speculation.

Roton, it might not fly in the RR configuration, but I'm betting that XCOR may migrate towards a HTLV design similar to Roton, since their current approach seems to not inspire the kind of investor excitement they need to fund a production run.

There's no evidence to support that. Why would they go from one approach that couldn't attract investment to another? It sounds more like wishful thinking on your part, rather than informed speculation. Anyway, their current approach seems to be successful, in that they are continuing to operate.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Thanks for the heads up. I have been downrange and am just catching up. FWIW XCor was founded by or is largely staffed by veterans of Rotary Rocket -- from the propulsion end.

They thought the engine design was the most marketable of RR's innovations. They have been pretty well funded AFAIK and have been flying the engine in a Long-EZ while a new airframe (spaceframe?) has been in conceptual design.

No reason the rotary recovery wouldn't work but it is a lot more complex than, say, the constant 250kt IAS glide used by other reentry vehicles.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F