Revolutionary engine design could change flight forever (but KSP has had it for ages!)

[kiwi1960]

Revolutionary engine design could change flight forever

BAE Systems is investing in a British firm developing an engine that could transform the face of travel.

Reaction Engines, one of the brightest prospects in European space plane technology, has big news.

BAE Systems, the globetrotting defence and aeronautics giant, just bought 20% of the firm, and it's making a major investment in Reaction Engines' most promising ideas.

The idea is an unpiloted, reusable hypersonic space plane. It's called SABRE. Here's how the company itself describes it:

"A new aerospace engine class that combines both jet and rocket technologies with the potential to revolutionise hypersonic flight and the economics of space access.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/73624710/revolutionary-engine-design-could-change-flight-forever

Edited November 3, 2015 by Red Iron Crown
Changed to excerpt and link.

[More Boosters]

I'm happy about this but sadly I can't be very optimistic. At the very least you need to add special infrastructure for the cryogenic fuel. Maintenance of supersonic planes is no joke either.

[SargeRho]

There's another thread about Skylon already, though. And the RAPIER is based on the SABRE.

[Nuke]

its to keep the intake pointed into the airflow and to keep the thrust vector pointed at the cg.

[Kerbart]

There's another thread about Skylon already, though. And the RAPIER is based on the SABRE.

One of the joys of KSP is discovering that nearly allâ€â€if not allâ€â€stock parts are inspired by real–world counterparts. And some mods too. I was shocked to discover that Porkjet's inflatable habitats where based on some real–world design.

[Streetwind]

I'm sorry, but this is "news" in the same sense that telling someone that there are elephants in Africa is "news" You can see it in the infographic in the article: the idea for the SABRE engine is 25 years old, the science behind it has been verified for 12 years, and the function of critical components has been proven three years ago. There have been dozens of threads about it here, and KSP's RAPIER engine is a direct hommage to it, down to the name. It's also a bit cringe-worthy how the article calls the spaceplane "SABRE", when that is just the name of the engine: Synergistic Air Breathing Rocket Engine. Typical online "journalism" once more =/ The spaceplane is running under the working title of "Skylon".

The one thing that's really new here is the investment from BAE, where they bought a 20% share in Reaction Engines Ltd. This is a pretty big deal for a company who's repeatedly been under fire for developing vaporware (that's not my opinion, that's what you can read in other places around the web). If a company as large as BAE Systems is convinced there's something worth buying, then that means they're probably not far from the home stretch in terms of getting a full engine test article built.

EDIT: For a look at what a properly written article on this topic looks like, go here: http://spacenews.com/bae-takes-stake-in-british-air-breathing-rocket-venture/

Edited November 3, 2015 by Streetwind

[Nibb31]

I guess SABRE (or inflatables) are news to people who didn't know anything about space before playing KSP two weeks ago.

[PB666]

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34694935

[Gaarst]

Asking for a thread to be closed or moved is usually not appreciated by mods...

Edited November 3, 2015 by Gaarst
Removed deleted quote

[Rune]

This is nice! I saw the story elsewhere, and that is basically my reaction. We might yet see the prototype ground unit roar to life! And once the RAPIER SABRE engine is proven, then building an airframe around it sounds much more reasonable.

Rune. Clever thermodynamics indeed.

[fredinno]

Asking for a thread to be closed or moved is usually not appreciated by mods...

Oh, ok, sorry.