The Netherlands National Team is now just one of four teams left in the World Cup. And if they manage to win the whole thing, they'll get something in addition to the glory of the victory. They'll also get a chance to visit the stars. (Making Robin van Persie a literal "Flying Dutchman.")
That's the promise of XCOR Aerospace, who has promised a free flight to every member of the team should they make the goal. The odds might be against them - FiveThirtyEight currently has them the least likely team to win, with only a 13% chance- but who knows? Space travel may be a heck of a motivator.
XCOR expects to begin its commercial operations in 2016 with its Lynx suborbital vehicle. During an XCOR flight, a single passenger is taken up in the rocket-powered Lynx to over 100 kilometers up. A ticket normally costs $95,000 - so free isn't a bad deal at all.
Why the Dutch team? Because that's where XCOR Space Expeditions is headquartered. The company, which formerly operated as Space Expeditions, was purchased last week by XCOR. The company had served as a general sales agent for XCOR since 2011, and will now operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of XCOR.
"As we approach first test flights, we want to ensure all other wet lease customers have an open platform for sales that is not affiliated with a specific wet leasee but with XCOR, the vehicle builder," XCOR's Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson explained to me. "Therefore as a natural product of growth, and positioning for success, we have decided to bring it in house as an open platform for all future wet leasees to use. It brings the customer closer to XCOR and presents a common brand identity."
The parent company of Space Expeditions Corporation, Space Expeditions, NV, still exists separately as a passive holding company for investors in XCOR's $14.2 million Series B investment, which was completed in May. According to Nelson, these investors also gained an undisclosed amount of common stock in XCOR as a result of the acquisition.
For more about XCOR, see this profile of the company from the June 30, 2014 issue of FORBES.
