Plans to revolutionise space access with Mach 5-capable aircraft took a step further today with £60m of funding from the UK government to kick-start commercial investments. British manufacturer Reaction Engines claims it can slash the cost of launching…
Plans to revolutionise space access with Mach 5-capable aircraft took a step further today with £60m of funding from the UK government to kick-start commercial investments.
British manufacturer Reaction Engines claims it can slash the cost of launching small satellites with its reusable ‘space plane’, as well as making it possible to fly anywhere in the world in four hours.
The company needs funds to develop prototypes for the SABRE engines its Skylon plane will use.
These engines are able to switch between jet and rocket modes, enabling them to utilise oxygen when flying through the atmosphere. Conventional rockets are unable to do this, and so rely on liquid fuel that makes them heavier and therefore more expensive to launch.
The government investment is being split into two stages and it has not yet been decided whether it will be provided through equity, a grant or by other means.
Some £35m will be provided in 2014/2015, and the remaining £25m will come in 2015/2016.
A spokesman for the UK Space Agency, which is managing the investment, said it expects the company will receive “several times” its contribution from institutional investors over the 3-5 years of SABRE’s development.
Reports late last year suggested the company required £250m to complete the next stage of its development, however, the spokesman said the minimum it currently needs is being revised.
Tim Hayter, CEO of Reaction Engines, was quoted in November 2012 saying the company intended to keep its structure of being more than 90% privately funded.
The company was unable to comment before the press deadline.
Speaking at the UK Space Conference in Glasgow today, Science Minister David Willetts said its support will maximise the country’s access to a £13.8bn launcher market.
“The space industry contributes over £9bn to the [UK] economy every year and supports tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs,” he said.
“But to meet our target of capturing ten per cent of a growing world market we must harness new opportunities in new areas of space. SABRE has the potential to completely transform how we access space. By supporting this breakthrough technology we are giving the UK a leading position in a growing market of new generation launchers and removing one of the main barriers to the growth of commercial activity in space.”
The UK Space Agency has been working closely with Reaction Engines for a number of years. As well as providing early seed funding, it helped validate the technology in 2010. SABRE also got the European Space Agency’s backing in 2012.
A prototype SABRE is expected by 2017, and flight tests for the engine around 2020.
Skylon and its engines are among a number of low-cost solutions for launching small satellites to have cropped up over the years.
Switzerland’s nascent small satellite launcher recently announced plans to upgrade its proposed suborbital vehicle for manned flights and science missions.
Called Swiss Space Systems-S3, the venture also envisages making supersonic intercontinental travel possible, with its aircraft-based system being designed to travel at Mach 3.
The group is building a shuttle that can ride on an Airbus A300 to 10,000km. From there it could be released to climb a further 80km to launch spacecraft, before gliding back for reuse.
Other space companies that are designing small satellite launchers include the UK’s Virgin Galactic, and Lockheed Martin and Boeing of the US.
