Skylon development given go-ahead by UK Space Agency
A technical assessment has concluded that there are no impediments to the further development of the Skylon spacecraft being developed by Reaction Engines.
The UK Space Agency’s report on the Skylon technical assessment, for which the European Space Agency (ESA) was commissioned, also agreed with the objectives of the proposed next stage of the development programme.
Reaction Engines, based at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, will now conduct a demonstration of the engine’s key pre-cooler technology later in the summer.
Skylon is an unpiloted, reusable single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft that is capable of delivering payloads of up to 15 tonnes into Low Earth Orbit at a fraction of the cost of traditional expendable launch vehicles, such as rockets.
Skylon’s Sabre engines use liquid hydrogen combined with oxygen from the air at altitudes up to 26km and speeds of up to Mach 5 before switching over to onboard liquid oxygen for the final stage of ascent.
The UK Space Agency’s commissioned report concluded that ‘no impediments or critical items have been identified for either the Skylon vehicle or the Sabre engine that are a block to further developments’.
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