New UK facility to test space-plane engines

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The construction of a new rocket test facility in the UK could hasten the development of space planes able to take off and land from terrestrial space-ports and hypersonic aircraft that could slash international travel times.

The facility, which is being built by Oxfordshire rocketry specialist Reaction Engines, will be used to carry out the first ground tests of the firm’s SABRE engine, and will pave the way for flight tests of this potentially game-changing propulsion technology.

SABRE (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) is an advanced rocket engine able to “breath air” from the atmosphere as well as operate in a pure rocket mode. The concept is claimed to offer a significant reduction in propellant consumption and weight compared to conventional rocket engines that have to carry their own oxygen.

According to its developers the technology could provide thrust from standstill on the runway to speeds above five times the speed of sound in the atmosphere, before transitioning to a rocket mode of operation, allowing spaceflight at up to orbital velocity (equivalent to twenty five times the speed of sound).

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/issues/october-2012-online/skylon-and-sabre-your-questions-answered/

The test facility at Westcott, Buckinghamshire, will enable Reaction Engines to test critical subsystems along with the testing of a SABRE engine core, which will commence in 2020.

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