Tech | May 26, 2011 | 20 comments

UK and European Space Agencies Give a Go For Skylon Spaceplane

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After 30 years of development, the UK and European space agencies have given a go for the Skylon Spaceplane.

The Skylon, which is being developed at the Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines in the UK, is an unpiloted and reusable spacecraft that can launch into Low Earth Orbit after taking off from a conventional runway.

Looking like something out of Star Wars, Skylon is a self contained, single stage, all in one reusable space vehicle. There are no expensive booster rockets, external fuel tanks or huge launch facilities needed.

The vehicle’s hybrid SABRE engines use liquid hydrogen combined with oxygen from the atmosphere at altitudes up to 26km and speeds of up to Mach 5, before switching over to on-board fuel for the final rocket powered stage of ascent into low Earth orbit.

The Skylon is intended to cut the costs involved with commercial activity in space, delivering payloads of up to 15 tons including satellites, equipment and even people into orbit at costs much lower than those that use expensive conventional rockets.

Once the spacecraft has completed its mission, it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and return to base, landing like an airplane on the same runway, making it a totally re-usable spaceplane, with a fast mission turn around.


http://www.universetoday.com/85962/uk-and-european-space-agencies-give-a-go-for-...
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20 comments // UK and European Space Agencies Give a Go For Skylon Spaceplane

  • 14_Crusaders
  • 14_Crusaders
    • 0
      14_Crusaders  
    • Low Earth orbit...Is that like the edge of space..Like where you don't need heat shields for re entry. So it's not really in space it's self. Like the SR-71-Black Bird..that was edge of space...I'll have to educate myself on this
      Great post thanks...

    • 1 year ago
  • mikem0487
    • +2
      mikem0487  
    • We need to invest more into space exploration and cut defense! Space exploration is the future not supporting the production of military weapons!

    • 1 year ago
  • NickerBocker09
  • V1ct0rCR0cc0
  • remanns
  • unimatrix0
  • remanns
  • Emucratic
  • NickerBocker09
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • Emucratic:

      The "Reaction Engine" uses a trick they got from my CAR ENGINE OF 2003. Oh yeah, that's the car engine you can't have either. hehehehe Oh yeah, that's THE CAR ENGINE EVERYONE ARGUES IN MY FACE CANT POSSIBLY WORK.

      HAHAHAHA I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you guys (the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE), I'm laughing at the plain hilarity of the rich & powerful having toys and everybody else ~INCLUDING ME YEP~ not even getting scraps or crumbs falling off their tables.

      Well, laughing beats heck outta crying, and crying wouldn't do any good ANYWAY, so laughing it is then!

      I also designed a Fountain of Youth system for Homes in 2006, but the reason you never got it was because they didn't pay me for my car engine. RATHER CLEVER OF THEM EH?

      They've made Eternal Pyramids only they sit atop.

      You're somewhere underneath.

    • 1 year ago
  • ThatCrazyLibertarian
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • ThatCrazyLibertarian:

      Maybe, Maybe Not, but the principle of First Use would or should figure prominently in a court case I would think. They should walk away with something. Only problem is it would be like the guy who invented the "Pop Ratchet" and Sears Roebuck took it to store shelves. That fellow had to devote the next 10 YEARS ~and remainder of his lifespan~ to beat the monies out of them.

      He won and he died, to the best of my knowledge anyway. In my own case I had way too many SERIOUS health issues not getting treated by my doctors, that had I chose to do battle with them they would have killed me from the effort DECADES AGO. I chose instead to stay alive and not follow that fellow into a cemetery plot... trusting that eventually the truth would become known, albeit the way they like it, POSTHUMOUSLY IF THEN.

      There's only one big problem with their Logic. Jesus is my friend. He has been healing me, keeping me alive through cancers MRSA's heart attacks infarctions Lyme's disease and many other deadly afflictions even twice bringing me back from being dead, not to be forgetting the big TAPEWORM that injected its babies into my colon wall that travelled up into my heart, grew larger and began OBSTRUCTING BLOOD INTO MY BRAIN HAHAHA

      So that "posthumously" they think they'll be laughing over my grave is going to turn out a good deal differently. Soon. I get rewarded for being PEACEABLE with them, and they get rewarded for trashing my family financially. They get to wear the boots they planned for us. Soon.

      Soon makes good "bookends" eh?

    • 1 year ago
  • iowawashington
  • CalPal
  • remanns
  • haberzet
  • remanns
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • remanns:

      Not really. Tesla's lightning drive would lift off without needing wheels, or a runway, and the old baby boomers would be able to travel up up and away to the Moon without being subjected to 4-5 gravities. One of the Star Trek movies showed craft like that, forget which one but Shatner was still fairly young. You might recall it he eyeballed a lovely lady going down the stairs as he and Spock went up tjhem, as I recall. The small ships in the background were flying off without making any SOUND.

      You might wonder how can a ship use LIGHTNING as its drive system and not produce any SOUND. hahaha Ever hear of a VACUUM?

      hahahaha There's a LOT you aren't getting. This spaceplane is barely CRUMBS OFF THE TABLE to what they really have. This reaction engine spaceplane is what they want you to think is just now coming out.

      I estimate the Public Taxpayers must be at least 100 years behind. We only get stuff after they figure out how to knead it into their money-fleecing system. And like old George Walker Bush KEPT TELLING US THROUGH HIS COMMENTS it has to always appear REAL HARD.

      Loose lips sink ships Georgie Boy. You told the Public Satan really is running the show. Remember the old cartoons 50+ years ago man? The Big Injun and the little old prospector? He had "a secret he wouldn't tell"? INJUN JOE WAS TICKLISH. Satan's people were telling us a truism bar none with that cartoon => ENERGY IS REALLY EASY TO MAKE, AS EASY AS AS A HAND-CRANKED MAGNETO.

      That's why very few people can understand my engines, some even outright heard to say I'm not making any sense, because all of YOU HAVE BEEN FED THROUGH THEIR DUMB DOWN MACHINE TO BELIEVE GREAT ANSWERS ALL HAVE TO BE HARD.

      THEY AREN'T. THE ANSWERS ARE NOT HARD. BRAINWASHING, A TERRIBLE THING TA WASTE. I HAVE THE TRUTH, ALL OF YOU HAVE THE MONTHLY BILLS.

      YOUR JAIL DOOR IS OPEN => YOU JUS' THINK IT'S STILL LOCKED.

    • 1 year ago
  • remanns
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