Video Report on XCOR’s Exit From Mojave
KGET takes a look at XCOR’s move from Mojave to Midland.
10 responses to “Video Report on XCOR’s Exit From Mojave”
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KGET takes a look at XCOR’s move from Mojave to Midland.
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Great, states, which exhibit lower taxes and less regulations attract business! There must be a large difference to cause such a move. I hope XCOR does not loss much of its core team. A personal comment: I like XCOR much more as VG, because XCOR does not need this repellent hype as VG.
> hope XCOR does not loss much of its core team.
Agreed. I’ve been to Midland a few times and it’s not really a place I’d be interested in moving to.
I imagine, though, that many of those folks eat, sleep, and drink XCOR so leaving the project isn’t even a consideration.
“Agreed. I’ve been to Midland a few times and it’s not really a place I’d be interested in moving to.”
A lot of people say the same thing about Mojave. You either love it or hate it.
Which is why the most successful start-ups are “home town” ones, by folks that like where they live and want to make a future there, instead of elsewhere.
Microsoft is the classic example. It was founded in Albuquerque, but Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Seattle natives never liked it there and it only stumbled along as a firm. It was only when they moved back home to Seattle that it took off.
This is often one of the key mistakes in economic development strategy, local groups seek to attract outside firms rather than creating a climate to generate local start-ups.
I like airplanes more than most people, a sentence that can be read two ways and both are accurate. If I were a young man wanting to start a career in aviation or space, I can think of fewer places more exciting to live and work than Mojave. I’ve only visited Mojave once (back in 1988) and it was fascinating.
That stated, a lot of people won’t see Mojave’s attraction. That’s likely one of the major reasons why Virgin Galactic won’t be building their LauncherOne there. The talent pool there may not be deep enough and getting people to relocate there is likely challenging.
Their operating costs are going up because it costs a lot more to live in Midland and to hire people there. Mojave is a fairly inexpensive place to live even with state taxes.
Mojave has other advantages. There’s so little civilian air traffic here that testing can be easily arranged. Restricted airspace and an overland supersonic corridor overhead. Airport management that give you permission to store flammable materials next to nitrous oxide tanks.
Midland is actually a working commercial airport. That could restrict flight testing somewhat.
And that brings up the big question. How will the move impact their culture as an organization? Success is usually more a function of organization culture than anything else. Moving to a distance location, losing key personal, trying to work in an environment different than the one that created the organization’s original success has many impacts difficult to assess before the move is made.
Look at what happened to Boeing after they relocated their headquarters to Chicago away from their Seattle roots.
Whereas Mojave is a place that looks to the future, Midland’s airport is home to the Commemorative Air Force and is a place dedicated to the past. Add in the weather, Texas twisters and hail storms are common, and it will be quite a change for XCOR as an organization. They are wise to wait until after flight test to make the move. But that $10 million may well be the most expensive money they have taken. Only time will tell.
Airport management that give you permission to store flammable materials next to nitrous oxide tanks.
I see what you did there. 😉
When is the move to Midland supposed to happen?
As far as I know, there is no fixed date. I have read a few times, that the move is planned after lynx flight testing begins.