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SABRE on course to chill SKYLON into orbit

By James Holloway
July 13, 2012
SABRE on course to chill SKYLON into orbit
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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Model of the SABRE engine on display at Farnborough Airshow (Photo: Gizmag)
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Model of the SABRE engine on display at Farnborough Airshow (Photo: Gizmag)
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
The SABRE engine's pre-cooler
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The SABRE engine's pre-cooler
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
Pre-cooler manifold
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Pre-cooler manifold
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
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Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
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Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
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Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
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Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
Cut-away of the planned SKYLON spaceplane
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Cut-away of the planned SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
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SABRE is a crucial part of Reaction Engine's plans for the SKYLON spaceplane
Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
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Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
View gallery - 17 images

Reaction Engines has announced that is has successfully tested the key pre-cooler component of its revolutionary SABRE engine crucial to the development of its SKYLON spaceplane. The company claims that craft equipped with SABRE engines will be able to fly to any destination on Earth in under 4 hours, or travel directly into space.

The SABRE engine is capable of operating either as a jet or a rocket, powering aircraft, Reaction Engines claims, at five times the speed of sound within Earth atmosphere, or at 25 times the speed of sound flying directly into orbit. The key to this level of performance is the engine's pre-cooler, which Reaction Engines claims will chill air from over 1000º C (1832º F) to -150º C (-238º F) in under 1/100th of a second.

Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine
Cut-away of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine

The pre-cooler technology was the subject of the latest tests, and Reaction Engines claims its prototype, which is already down to flight-weight, demonstrates the necessary structural integrity, aerodynamic stability and lack of vibration necessary. Though the engine's pre-cooling tests are described as preliminary, further tests commencing in August will push this component to the performance ultimately required.

It has taken a team of more than 30 engineers 22 years to get the SABRE engine where it is today. The cooling assembly used in the engine is on display at the Farnborough Airshow until Sunday July 15.

Reaction Engine's explanatory video of the SABRE engine can be seen below.

Source: Reaction Engines (PDF)
SKYLON SABRE Heatex

View gallery - 17 images

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AircraftRocketJetsEngineFarnborough Airshow 2012Reaction EnginesSkylonRocketJetsEngineFarnborough Airshow 2012Reaction EnginesSkylon
13 comments
James Holloway
James writes about science and technology from his home in rural East Anglia. Whether it's the internet, nature, video games or AI, he pays particular heed to the flash points with culture, society and the planet.

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13 comments
zevulon
I think like a lot of people who read about this stuff FOR YEARS, it's been readily apparent that the big problem with air breathing multimach supersonic jets is heat. heat destroys everything. you could say its vibration or whatever else, but the designers have figured out ways of dealing with just about everything except the heat problem, because you cannot slow down air in the combustion chamber without creating excess heat at these speeds, it's difficult enough to make a skin or coating that can resist the heat for even short periods of time. read about the famous fastest production plane ever , the blackbird, and it was the heat --or rather the highly costly process of cooling the plane---that was its undoing ( that and the rise of cheaper sattelites for the same basic purpose of spying ) .
i'm not very convinced this thing above will work, i know very little about it, but having read about all the other strategies out there that scram jets contend with when dealing with the heat of friction coming from directing air into the engine ( using coolant to cool the combustion chamber, or using precooled fuel , i find this a fascinating intriguing approach----cooling the air before it enters the combustion chamber.
for the first time reading about scram jets---i'm finally going to say , it might work this time. and if it does, the military is going to be billions over it--particularly in light of the recent failed tests ( in my opinion they were p.r. failures at the very least ) of its unmanned hypersonic wedge looking scram jet.
Slowburn
The SABRE engine is a rocket it is just that they figured out how to liquify oxygen in aerodynamic flight to feed it.
Brian Hall
Looks like about 70% of the volume of the plane is liquid H2 storage. I really wonder what use this plane is. Small payload area. Cargo? Passengers?
Harshad Srinivasan
@zevulon: iirc, the 'plane' uses liquid hydrogen as fuel. It pumps the liquid h2 through and around the engine in order to keep it cool (and liquify the air).
Peter McArthur
No. Nitrogen has to be cooled to -196C to become liquid and oxygen has to be cooled to -182.96C to become liquid. The incoming air is only cooled to -150C. There is stored LOX for use in space however.
Bob64
If this technology works out it will revolutionise getting into space. I have been following this company for several years, it sounds almost too good to be true, but it has the stamp of approval of the ESA and others, so I remain hopeful. I would love to know how they avoid the pre coolers icing up, they have been keeping tight lipped about this.
John in Brisbane
@zevulon... 1. Cool name! I sometimes use "Spankulon" when gaming against my mates lol 2. I've got to be careful because I seriously want this to work but I am more hopeful - I see these as simply a series of technical problems that can, in principle at least, eventually be solved. I believe that the SCRAM jets being prototyped by the US and Australia use the actual fuel as coolant - running it through galleries in the hottest parts of the engine/nozzle etc allowing it to heat up before being burnt in the combustion section.
JPAR
If you read the full press release on their website, you'll see that this technology ALREADY enables jet engines the technology to double their speed.....
PeetEngineer
Single-stage-to-orbit here we come!
agulesin
Can anyone tell me why its banana-shaped? is it to keep the plane within orbit as it goes soooo fast around the globe?
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