Sabre engine concept passes key test

[Duffy Moon]

The company developing a new type of hybrid jet/rocket engine has announced that it has successfully completed initial testing:

Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) of Culham, Oxfordshire, ran a series of tests on key elements of its Sabre propulsion system under the independent eye of the European Space Agency (Esa).

Esa's experts have confirmed that all the demonstration objectives were met.

REL claims the major technical obstacle to its ideas has now been removed.

"This is a big moment; it really is quite a big step forward in propulsion," said Alan Bond, the driving force behind the Sabre engine concept.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20510112

Hopefully, this means that the proposed Skylon spaceplane is a step nearer to becoming reality.

 

[Thunderchief]

That is excellent news, I have been interested in this since the HOTOL Project, the engine really is special. I saw a TV program on it not too long ago, it showed the construction of the inter-coolers and a brief test run. Very excited, I hope they get some decent funding now.

 

[Octavo]

The company developing a new type of hybrid jet/rocket engine has announced that it has successfully completed initial testing:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20510112

Hopefully, this means that the proposed Skylon spaceplane is a step nearer to becoming reality.

Skylon has always seemed like a pipe dream fantasy to me (almost like my Venus colonisation thread lol), but this is really excellent news!

Exciting times. As an aside, could Elon Musk not partner with Reaction? That would be awesome.

 

[SezMe]

A few thoughts. It looks a lot like the Blacklbird. What is the runway length required for landing? How many exist at commercial airports? Lastly, I imagine the thing has pretty high maintenance costs. What is the projected cost per kg lifted to orbit?

 

[Thunderchief]

A few thoughts. It looks a lot like the Blacklbird. What is the runway length required for landing? How many exist at commercial airports? Lastly, I imagine the thing has pretty high maintenance costs. What is the projected cost per kg lifted to orbit?

Well it's black anyway. ;-) Don't know the runway length, I think the launch costs are estimated to be $40 million, about $20 million less than Elon Musk's system. rated to lift 15 tonnes so that's about $2666 per kilo, if my maths are right.

 

[Duffy Moon]

A few thoughts. It looks a lot like the Blacklbird.

Certainly does!

What is the runway length required for landing? How many exist at commercial airports?

I believe it would require a purpose-built spaceport/runway.
It isn't intended to use regular commercial airports.

Lastly, I imagine the thing has pretty high maintenance costs.

One of the thing that they're claiming is fairly low maintenance and quick turnaround between flights.
Presumably, this would mean cost are kept down.

What is the projected cost per kg lifted to orbit?

..the costs per kilogram of payload are hoped to be lowered from the current £15,000/kg to £650/kg

 

[Wolfman]

Here's the part that blows my mind:

What the company has right now is a remarkable heat exchanger that is able to cool air sucked into the engine at high speed from 1,000 degrees Celsius to minus 150 degrees in one hundredth of a second.

One hundredth of a second to cool air from 1000 degrees to minus 150 degrees...science is freakin' amazing!

The whole "it'll be a cold day in hell" thing just wont' have the same meaning any more!

 

[Myriad]

Here's the part that blows my mind:
One hundredth of a second to cool air from 1000 degrees to minus 150 degrees...science is freakin' amazing!

The trick is to let it sit out on the counter for the first four thousandths of a second, before moving it into the cooling chamber.

 

[Soapy Sam]

http://machrihanish.org/

10,000 feet long enough?

For all your launch needs, come to Scotland.

 

[Duffy Moon]

http://machrihanish.org/

10,000 feet long enough?

For all your launch needs, come to Scotland.

You've got the length, big boy but is it hard enough?

I believe Skylon will require a reinforced runway.

 

[Beerina]

http://machrihanish.org/

10,000 feet long enough?

For all your launch needs, come to Scotland.

Takeoff-to-orbit? Runway doesn't matter. Let it be 10 miles if necessary. Utility will make it happen.

 

[Macgyver1968]

Did anyone else get a boner watching that video?

 

[fuelair]

Did anyone else get a boner watching that video?

No, but VERY impressive. Love to see the real thing!!! In operation!!!

 

[LarianLeQuella]

You've got the length, big boy but is it hard enough?

I believe Skylon will require a reinforced runway.

Plenty of those all over the US. Build a long eough runway, and SAC will make a plane that can't take off on it.

 

[SezMe]

http://machrihanish.org/

10,000 feet long enough?

For all your launch needs, come to Scotland.

Having a church on site is gonna help too.

 

[BenBurch]

Here's the part that blows my mind:
One hundredth of a second to cool air from 1000 degrees to minus 150 degrees...science is freakin' amazing!

The whole "it'll be a cold day in hell" thing just wont' have the same meaning any more!

Now, if they can ALSO manage to move that heat into the thrust chamber so there isn't a huge energy suck, they have something.

 

[BenBurch]

Takeoff-to-orbit? Runway doesn't matter. Let it be 10 miles if necessary. Utility will make it happen.

Lots of 10,000'+ runways even now; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_runways

(Many at high altitude because you need longer takeoff rolls in thin air.)

 

[GodMark2]

Here's the part that blows my mind:
One hundredth of a second to cool air from 1000 degrees to minus 150 degrees...science is freakin' amazing!

The whole "it'll be a cold day in hell" thing just wont' have the same meaning any more!

That seems to have been revised

REL's solution is a module containing arrays of extremely fine piping that can extract the heat and plunge the inrushing air to about -140C in just 1/100th of a second.

During flight air enters the pre-cooler. In 1/100th of a second a network of fine piping inside the pre-cooler drops the air's temperature by well over 100C. Very cold helium in the piping makes this possible.

The inrushing air in this case was only 20°C, not 1000°C, according to the diagrams provided, which lines up with the "drops over 100°C claim".

 

[Wolfman]

The inrushing air in this case was only 20°C, not 1000°C, according to the diagrams provided, which lines up with the "drops over 100°C claim".

Yes, that makes a lot more sense.

 

[CORed]

http://machrihanish.org/

10,000 feet long enough?

For all your launch needs, come to Scotland.

Scotland? Unless you're launching to polar orbit, that high latitude is a significant disadvantage.