Mojave Virtual Museum

Mojave has come a long way since the days when the 20-mule team hauled Borax to the rail line in town at a blinding speed of 2 mph. Because of its wide open spaces, Mojave is an ideal location for companies developing rocket-powered space hardware, and is set to become the first civilian spaceport in the world. XCOR Aerospace has performed a number of history-making "firsts" at Mojave, and thus have been given a whole page unto themselves.
	First firing of an XCOR LOX-powered rocket engine, October 8, 2000. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First firing of the EZRocket's engine on March 20, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
Aleta Jackson of XCOR writes: "We spent about a week of fevered activity getting ready for Oshkosh [the annual Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in in Oshkosh, WI]. On Wednesday, 18 July, we finally integrated the rocket engine with the airframe and fired it with cockpit controls for the first time at about 2:00 am on Thursday, July 19. Then the airplane went into the shop for painting. On Saturday, 21 July, at 9:00 am we retrieved it from the paint shop, took it back to our shop, performed final weight and balance and finished doing the fiddly bits at about 6:00 pm. Then our test pilot, Lt. Col. Dick Rutan (USAF Ret.) stepped into the cockpit for the first time and test fired the engine. After that was successful, we towed the plane to Runway 08/26 to perform a couple of fast taxi runs. We were all very, very tired. It was late; the sun had set. Rutan fired the engine and taxied down to the east end of 08/26. He then turned into a stiff westerly wind and lit the engine again. The plane briefly left the runway, about 50 feet high and 1,000 feet long. We were not prepared for Dick’s maneuver, so no good photograph exists."
	First firing of the EZRocket's engine installed in the aircraft, July 19, 2001. EZRocket is a rocket-powered version of the Rutan Long-EZ, a popular plane with kit-builders. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	Static firing tests, with test pilot Dick Rutan, just prior to first taxi and first flight. July 21, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First taxi, July 21, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First taxi, July 21, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	XCOR Aerospace's EZRocket, with test pilot Dick Rutan at the controls, on its first flight on July 21, 2001. The aircraft was powered by a single XCOR rocket engine. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First flight, July 21, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First flight of the EZRocket with two engines installed, October 6, 2001. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.
	First touch-and-go by a rocket powered aircraft. There have been a number of rocket-powered aircraft though the history of aviation, but this was the first time ever that a rocket-powered aircraft took off, circled around, touched down on a runway, and then took off again. Pilot was Dick Rutan, date was June 24, 2002. Photo courtesy of XCOR Aerospace.