The Midland Development Corp. (MDC) and XCOR Aerospace jointly announced the establishment of XCOR's new Commercial Space Research and Development Center Headquarters that will be created over the next 18 months. XCOR will be establishing its new R&D center on the flight line at Midland International Airport (MAF) in a newly renovated 60,000-ft² hangar, which will include office space and a test facility. The renovation is expected to commence in early 2013, and be completed by the late autumn. In parallel with the XCOR facility renovation, the City of Midland is applying to the FAA for a Commercial Space Launch Site designation for MAF, an estimated 12 to 18 month process. Upon completion of the licensing process and the hangar renovation, the XCOR presence will begin to ramp up. XCOR manufactures reusable rocket engines for major aerospace prime contractors and is the designer, manufacturer, and operator of the Lynx, a winged fully reusable, high performance suborbital space vehicle that is designed to safely carry two persons or scientific experiments to the edge of space and back up to four times per day.