Former Pentagon official Jay Gibson has been named as the chief executive of XCOR Aerospace, developer of a small, sub-orbital space vehicle at the Mojave Air & Space Port. Gibson replaces Jeff Greason, a founder of XCOR, who will remain as chief technology officer and chairman of the board. Gibson joins the aerospace startup from aircraft maker Beechcraft Corp., in Wichita, Kan., where he served in executive positions in the global mission support, special missions group and the defense unit. Prior to Beechcraft, Gibson served at the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration as deputy undersecretary of defense and as assistant secretary of the United States Air Force. Gibson said joining XCOR will give him an opportunity to participate in the continuing development of the space industry with the company’s Lynx spacecraft. “I am excited to join this exceptional team at a critical time on the XCOR journey to making space accessible to everyone,” he said; in a prepared statement. The Lynx is a two-seat suborbital spaceship XCOR is developing and building in Mojave. It is designed to carry tourists, scientists or small payloads into space. XCOR also is building a research and development facility in Midland, Texas, and has plans for a manufacturing center for the Lynx at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.