XCOR Aerospace aims for more efficient and effective company with new CEO

XCOR Aerospace, Inc. announced Monday that executive John (Jay) Gibson II has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and President of the company. Gibson succeeds Jeff Greason, who is transitioning to Chief Technology Officer. Greason will dedicate his time to development of the company's two-seat fully reusable liquid rocket-powered Lynx vehicle that takes-off and lands horizontally.

"After a thorough search for the ideal candidate, we decided on Jay Gibson," said Greason.

As CEO, Gibson leads XCOR Aerospace with locations in Mojave, Calif., and Midland, Texas, as well as subsidiary XCOR Space Expeditions in Amsterdam. XCOR will also be establishing its manufacturing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Most recently, Gibson served as Senior Vice President, Global Mission Support for Beechcraft Corp. in Wichita, Kan. Additionally at Beechcraft he served as Vice President of the Special Missions Group and Vice President/CFO of the Defense unit. Prior to joining Beechcraft, he served as the Assistant Secretary of the United States Air Force, and as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

"With the commencement of the Lynx flight test program on the horizon, Jay's arrival allows this team to focus on getting Lynx in the air, moving forward on plans for our orbital vehicle, and transitioning XCOR to a more efficient and effective company,” Greason said.

Fifth astronaut candidate selected for Citizens in Space program

Citizens in Space, a project of the United States Rocket Academy, has announced the selection of its fifth citizen-astronaut candidate.

Informal educator and aerospace historian Greg Kennedy will join four other citizen-astronaut candidates who are training to fly as payload operators on the Lynx spacecraft, currently under construction by XCOR Aerospace in Mojave, Calif. XCOR expects to begin Lynx test flights later this year.

Citizens in Space has purchased 10 flights on the XCOR Lynx spacecraft. To fill those flights, Citizens in Space is seeking 100 citizen-science experiments and 10 citizen astronauts to fly as payload operators.

Greg Kennedy is currently director of education at NASTAR Center, a leading provider of spaceflight training for commercial vehicles, in Southampton, Pa. Previously, he was associate curator for manned spaceflight at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; director of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas; founding director of the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth; executive director of the Space Center in Alamogordo, N.M.; executive director of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Liberal, Kan.; and executive director of the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester, Pa.

Kennedy is a noted aerospace historian whose books include Touching Space: The Story of Project Manhigh, Apollo to the Moon, The First Men in Space; Rockets and Missiles of White Sands Proving Ground, and Vengeance Weapon Two: Germany's V-2 Rocket. He was also a co-author of The Space Shuttle Operator's Manual and Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum.

Kennedy is a qualified spacesuit technician and commercial spaceflight instructor. At NASTAR Center, he conducts training for commercial spaceflight participants and suborbital scientists, along with various workshops and summer-camp programs which he has created for teachers and students.

Current citizen-astronaut candidates include Maureen Adams, an elementary-school teacher and principle from Killeen, Texas; Michael Johnson, an aviation instructor from Dallas, Texas; Lt. Col. Steve Heck (USAF-ret.), and Edward Wright.

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