Space Plane

[Zombie]

British men love their garden sheds. They're a refuge from the real world where they can enjoy their hobbies and dream their dreams.

One such man is a 68 year old engineer, Alan Bond. Alan has devoted his whole life to an obsession with space travel. As a boy he loved the 1950s Eagle comic which featured Dan Dare, the spaceman. He dreamed of being Dan Dare and flying in a space plane. Here's an issue from 1960, showing the new Nimbus Two single stage to orbit space plane - the holy grail of space travel



As a boy Alan played with, built and launched small rockets. He then studied engineering and worked on real rockets during the British Space Programme [yes, we had one ]. Lucky Alan got to do what he loved dreaming about as a boy. And he continued to work on his Dan Dare space plane ideas in his garden shed.

In the 1980s he was the principal designer of HOTOL, a single stage space plane designed to take off and go straight into space without all the expense and complicated external gubbins of the Space Shuttle [huge external tank and throw-away solid boosters]. The key to this was an air breathing engine that removed the need to use onboard liquid oxygen until very high altitude has been achieved. This combined two known technologies, jet engines [which Britain developed in the 1930s] and rocket engines. Essentially a jet engine compressor is bolted onto the front of a rocket engine to deliver massive amounts of air containing sufficient oxygen for the stored hydrogen to operate the rocket motor without stored oxygen and provide exceptionally high thrust right up to 17 miles / 90,000 feet [Concorde's maximum altitude was 60,000 feet from where the Earth's curvature is clearly visible]. At that point the air intakes are closed and the engine becomes "closed cycle" using stored oxygen until orbit is achieved.

The problem was the temperature of the air as it enters the engine at supersonic speeds is too high for the turbine compressor feeding the rocket engine at the back so Alan and his team had to design special lightweight heat exchangers to reduce the gas temperature. This is the key to make the whole thing work. Sadly, a small team never had the kind of resources NASA has and the small amount of government money was never going to be enough to solve the inevitable technical difficulties. So the project was abandoned. Alan then sought patents on his design but the UK government immediately classified his technology. What meanies - the government wasn't going to pursue it and it wasn't going to let Alan and his team do so either.

So it was back to the garden shed, and with some new ideas Alan found a way around the original patents and set up Reaction Engines with a small team of specialist engineers near Oxford. With no government money they succeeded in building the "pre-cooler" and in April this year it was successfully tested

To avoid the patent problems Alan had with HOTOL none of their groundbreaking work has been patented. All the knowledge is in the heads of just a few individuals within the company.

This is really exciting stuff but Alan and his team can only take this project so far. Sadly Britain has a long track record of coming up with new technologies but not exploiting them. A project like this is going to need huge investment if Alan's engines are ever going to get into space. This can only happen with the backing of the European Space Agency or NASA. The ESA has assessed the technology and is currently evaluating the project so maybe the Dan Dare space plane will become a reality.

In the meantime here's to garden sheds and boyhood dreamers like Alan.

http://www.reactione...o.uk/about.html Edited June 27, 2013 by Zombie

[Palantir]

Amazing!

[stephendelmar]

very cool. I hope it happens. Sadly the US has all but defunded NASA, maybe the ESA can pick up the slack and take humanity back to the stars.

[Zombie]

Today the British Chancellor George Osborne announced that the government is investing in the next stage of development of the SABRE hybrid jet / rocket engine and will "commit to funding high-priority projects, including the Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) ..."

 

"This is a revolutionary design for an air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine. It would be fitted to a space vehicle that could take off and land like a plane, substantially reducing the cost of getting into orbit. Sabre's key heat-exchanger technology has just passed an important review audited by the European Space Agency. Mr Osborne's investment would go towards the building of a demonstration engine and final design plans. Although Sabre's technology is linked to a space plane, it would likely have many other applications, such as in existing gas turbine jet engines and in desalination plants."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23065763

Here's a BBC video interview on the project and how the engine works

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015ggfb
 

[Slytherin]

 confused care bear

[Zombie]

There there, go back to bed and dream of .... Dan Dare!

[Slytherin]

Prefere to dream about Daniel Day Lewis

[Bill W]

So that's what British men do in their garden sheds.  Really cool and looks like something out of Stargate.  I know this is what a lot of the early space pioneers pictured for space travel, such as the Flash Gordon Strato Sled or the original Buck Rogers spacecraft. I hope he can make it functional.   .

[hh5]

so its gonna fly one of these?

[Zombie]

From today's Guardian ...

"A £60m pledge from the UK government puts Reaction Engines' Sabre rocket on course to change space exploration for ever ... the spaceplane ... took a step closer to reality yesterday [Tuesday 16 July]. UK Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts confirmed the government's £60m investment in Reaction Engines Ltd."

Now £60m is loose change in aerospace, but in difficult economic times to get any money from government is impressive. It's what it represents that is significant, that the company has achieved technical targets and demonstrated that the key technologies for the new air-breathing engine work - the money will fund the construction of a full-size prototype.

After the technical triumph but commercial failure of Concorde the focus now is on what the market wants - and the market most definitely does want a lower cost single stage to orbit reusable space plane that uses an ordinary runway for takeoff and landing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/across-the-universe/2013/jul/17/sabre-rocket-engine-reaction-skylon

 

 

 

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Edited July 17, 2013 by Zombie

[Celethiel]

so its gonna fly one of these?

why haven't they built these yet they've had plenty of time....

[Zombie]

why haven't they built these yet they've had plenty of time....

 

 

NBC's website gave more details last week

 

The British government and European Space Agency (ESA) are providing $100 million in funding, which will be matched by private financing to complete the propulsion system's development and test.

 

The 2020 flight test will follow the completion of a prototype of the space plane engine by 2017, according to the UK government’s minister for universities and science David Willetts. Speaking on Tuesday (July 16) at the UK Space Conference 2013 in Glasgow, Scotland, Willetts said: "£60 million ($90 million) has been committed to begin building the SABRE prototype. We expect to see the completion of the prototype SABRE by 2017 and flight tests around 2020."

 

For this next phase, the £60 million will be paid in two tranches, £35 million in the UK government’s financial year 2014-2015 and then £25 million for 2015-2016. This funding is expected to create about 1,000 engineering and technology jobs and support a further 2,000 jobs in the wider economy, officials said.

 

By 2017, the UK government expects that SABRE's design will be done, ground demonstrations of engine technology carried out; a flight test of the SABRE rocket nozzle achieved; and improvements to the heat exchanger technology and manufacturing capability accomplished.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space-plane-engine-future-get-flight-test-2020-6C10679981#space-plane-engine-future-get-flight-test-2020-6C10679981

 

 

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Edited July 25, 2013 by Zombie

[iSimba]

why haven't they built these yet they've had plenty of time....

 

Because it's a tremendous drain of resources better spent on something else. At least in my opinion and in the opinion of those in charge xD

[Zombie]

Two weeks ago Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) in the UK announced its first formal link-up with the US government.

 

The company, based at Abingdon, near Oxford, has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s [AFRL] Aerospace Systems Directorate.

 

The US interest follows the British government's £60 million investment to continue development of the Skylon project and the European Space Agency's [ESA] validation of the technology behind SABRE [Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine]

 

The US is interested in how SABRE will switch in flight from air-breathing mode which takes it to Mach 5.5 - twice as fast as a jet - to that of a rocket engine, reaching Mach 25, or 7.5 km per second. The engine’s hybrid nature will allow a spacecraft to take off from a runway and fly directly into orbit. Its secret is heat exchanger technology that can can cool air entering the engine from 1,000°C to minus 150°C in just one hundredth of a second whilst preventing ice from forming within the unit. And it is all done using equipment that weighs less than a standard car to transfer as much heat - 450MW - as generated by an electricity power station.

 

The engines would power Skylon to become a reusable replacement for the Space Shuttle, carrying cargo and crews to space stations from any airport with a long enough and strong enough runway, and with a speedy turnaround time between missions. But the SABRE engine also has the potential to power other vehicles, and could fly passengers at hypersonic speed from one side of the Earth to the other - e.g. London to Sydney - in less than four hours.

 

Barry Hellman, for AFRL, said: “This CRADA opens the door for joint development and testing to help AFRL understand the SABRE engine’s technical details, and whether it may offer unique performance and vehicle integration advantages when compared to traditional hypersonic vehicle concepts. We look forward to exploring the engine and its lightweight heat exchangers which have the potential to enable hypersonic air-breathing rocket propulsion.”

 

http://www.sen.com/news/rival-spaceplanes-attract-interest-abroad

[Palantir]

Still amazing!

And looking set to revolutionise travel with increases in speed and huge savings over the current clumsy behemoths.

[W_L]

Agreed, amazing feat for space jet engine design.

 

Until we develop Arthur C Clarke's space elevator, this tech may be our best shot at low orbit commercial launches.

[hh5]

I was thinking what happen to any talk of Virgin Atlantic Space Plane ... getting closer to taking on passengers

but will they kick Bieber off the list for fear he might punch the pilot like his limo driver

Edited January 31, 2014 by hh5

[Zombie]

Today at the Farnborough Airshow the UK govt announced plans to build a spaceport by 2018 in one of 8 possible locations. Obviously there's an intention to steal business from Spaceport America The UK spaceport will be constructed using existing facilities and will need an extra long and strengthened runway. Initially it will be used by commercial operators like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, but the UK govt is obviously looking ahead to spacecraft now being developed that take off and land on ordinary runways like Alan Bond's Skylon. Reaction Engines Ltd, which is developing the hybrid jet turbine / rocket engine and spaceplane, is essentially a privately funded UK company but there's now serious interest both from the UK govt and the US govt.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/14/business/space-tourists-could-blast-off-from-uk/index.html?hpt=hp_c7

 

[joann414]

 Ok, I'm going to have a beer with DAng Bear.  My brain is fried from all of this technology stuff.  I'll leave it to the men

 

 

 

 

Where's the beer Dang Bear?  

[Celethiel]

Because it's a tremendous drain of resources better spent on something else. At least in my opinion and in the opinion of those in charge xD

like what for instance... besides your collection of Cellphone cases?

[W_L]

Today at the Farnborough Airshow the UK govt announced plans to build a spaceport by 2018 in one of 8 possible locations. Obviously there's an intention to steal business from Spaceport America The UK spaceport will be constructed using existing facilities and will need an extra long and strengthened runway. Initially it will be used by commercial operators like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, but the UK govt is obviously looking ahead to spacecraft now being developed that take off and land on ordinary runways like Alan Bond's Skylon. Reaction Engines Ltd, which is developing the hybrid jet turbine / rocket engine and spaceplane, is essentially a privately funded UK company but there's now serious interest both from the UK govt and the US govt.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/14/business/space-tourists-could-blast-off-from-uk/index.html?hpt=hp_c7

 

Good for the UK to put an extra long runway, but now you boys need a steam powered rocket ship

[Greg_A]

Good for the UK to put an extra long runway, but now you boys need a steam powered rocket ship

I think good 'Ol Doc Brown patented that invention with Marty's help.....

[Zombie]

Good for the UK to put an extra long runway, but now you boys need a steam powered rocket ship

 

Actually Britain did have a steam powered rocket ship back in the 1970s Blue Streak / Black Arrow launched the British satellite Prospero in 1971 [it's still up there and gets switched on now and again and will remain in orbit until around 2070] but in 1972 the UK govt cancelled it. Which means the UK is the only country to have successfully developed and then abandoned a satellite launch capability

 

But rockets are old technology. They're a very inefficient way of getting people and stuff into orbit. SpaceX may be an improvement but best current estimates are it can only save maybe 70% of current launch costs. The spaceport being planned is for spaceplane technology where projected savings are much higher - maybe down to one fiftieth of the current cost.

 

There are several spaceplane proposals underway at the moment but Skylon is, I believe, the only spaceplane that would be able to go into orbit, all the other designs only being capable of sub-orbital flights which is no good for satellites or reaching the ISS.

 

Edited July 17, 2014 by Zombie

[Zombie]

The hybrid air-breathing jet / rocket engine that Alan Bond has been working on for the last 30 years came a little closer this week to a runway takeoff and getting into orbit.

On Monday, Bae Systems - one of the top ten aerospace companies in the world - announced it is buying a 20% stake in Reaction Engines Ltd, the Oxford company that's been developing the engine. The reason for this investment is not to be a passive shareholder; Bae will be a working partner, with a seat on the Board, and intends to access its significant engineering, technical and manufacturing resources to get the engine built for ground-based testing in 5 years.

 

 

http://www.baesystems.com/cs/Satellite?c=BAENews_Release_C&childpagename=Global%2FBAELayout&cid=1434570674020&pagename=GlobalWrapper
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bae-systems-invests-in-reaction-engines-1446414451
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a25d2798-7f1b-11e5-98fb-5a6d4728f74e.html
 

[Palantir]

Whoo! I just noticed the Mach 25 top speed in space.