BBC Focus Magazine

[Shadowwolf]

NASA's space shuttle Discovery has completed its final mission, with Endeavour and Atlantis following it into retirement later this year.

It marks the end of a historic chapter in space travel, but a new one might not be light years away if a groundbreaking design for a fully reusable spacecraft can get off the ground.

"Skylon" may only be at the concept stage but it could usher in a new era of space exploration and discovery, says its UK-based designers, Reaction Engines Ltd.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/03/10/skylon.space.shuttle.future/index.html?hpt=C2

Alas it is only at the concept stage and hence a long way from reality and if you ask me that render on CNN looks suspiciously like a J-Type Nubian Royal Starship.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Ah, splendid, well found Mr.S.

This excellent (and British no less) project has been on the drawing board since before the advent of the Shuttle. Way ahead of its time it just needs technology to catch up sufficiently to make it a reality. The Sabre engine intake condeser coils are coming along nicely, or at least so I am lead to believe.

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/skylon_vehicle.html

[Willxx]

so will this also lead to ressurecting the British HOTOL projects? UK to Australia in 2 -3 hours?

EDIT just read online Skylon is a decendant of HOTOL

[M Paul Lloyd]

Well spotted Willxx, although HOTOL bore a striking resemblance to a scaled up air launched anti satellite project from the late 1960's and as such was never a viable proposition and even now the main stumbling block is in finding a propulsion system that can operate as an air breathing turbo jet in the atmosphere and a rocket motor outside it without incurring a huge weight penalty in the process. .

The problems involved in getting a single stage to orbit vehicle to work are simply huge and it could be another ten or even twenty years before we see a full size vehicle being launched successfully, but I wish them well with it.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Time for an update as the Skylons engine intake condenser goes on test.
I have very little idea how well these tests might be going only that they are key to the entire projects success.
One thing I can say is that the original plan was to compress and cool very thin high altitude air until it becomes liquid so that it can be fed directly to a liquid propellant reaction system and thus far they have, so I believe, only managed to reduce it from the very high compression temperatures to near 0 Degrees Centigrade, but it's a start.
With thanks to Jamie for bringing this to my attention.

Key tests for Skylon spaceplane project

Jonathan Amos Science correspondent
UK engineers have begun critical tests on a new engine technology designed to lift a spaceplane into orbit.
The proposed Skylon vehicle would operate like an airliner, taking off and landing at a conventional runway.
Its major innovation is the Sabre engine, which can breathe air like a jet at lower speeds but switch to a rocket mode in the high atmosphere.
Reaction Engines Limited (REL) believes the test campaign will prove the readiness of Sabre's key elements.
This being so, the firm would then approach investors to raise the £250m needed to take the project into the final design phase.

More here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17864782