ESA Validates Conceptual Jet-Rocket Hybrid Engine

[Petromir]

Reaction Engines Ltd is a private company spending private money on research and development. All the EU has done is given the engines a safety certificate without which its impossible to test the engines in flight.

Them being a private company doesn't really make them any less European.
Also, there's a difference between the EU and Europe.

Yes but it makes them a capitalistic company doing something for profit. Incidentally the US air force already has a vehicle working on this principle in test flights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-51

X-51 is a scramjet, nothing to do with skylons flight model.

Skylon is a single engine designed to use a single stage to run to orbit. The x-51 scramjet is a single mode engine that would require another two stages for an out of atmos launch, or one to get it to an in Atmos height, as it doesn't work at sub-sonic speeds.

Yeah its not like they are building a test bed to see how air intakes work at high speeds or how heat shielding works at high temperatures or anything. They are using is as validation for the mathematical model for use in project falcon. Project Falcons long term goal is to produce a working spaceplane. The next step is the HTV-3X http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:c7c40d1a-4bb2-4653-8dd9-40b6d05de309

Still nothing like Skylons idea. It may well the same end goal, but a completely different way of doing it, almost as different in execution to each other as they are to the Shuttle.

Conventional Jet engines and set of engines that run first as ramjets then as scram jets, still not one engine type for the entire flight is it?

 

[Albino Boo]

Reaction Engines Ltd is a private company spending private money on research and development. All the EU has done is given the engines a safety certificate without which its impossible to test the engines in flight.

Them being a private company doesn't really make them any less European.
Also, there's a difference between the EU and Europe.

Yes but it makes them a capitalistic company doing something for profit. Incidentally the US air force already has a vehicle working on this principle in test flights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-51

X-51 is a scramjet, nothing to do with skylons flight model.

Skylon is a single engine designed to use a single stage to run to orbit. The x-51 scramjet is a single mode engine that would require another two stages for an out of atmos launch, or one to get it to an in Atmos height, as it doesn't work at sub-sonic speeds.

Yeah its not like they are building a test bed to see how air intakes work at high speeds or how heat shielding works at high temperatures or anything. They are using is as validation for the mathematical model for use in project falcon. Project Falcons long term goal is to produce a working spaceplane. The next step is the HTV-3X http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:c7c40d1a-4bb2-4653-8dd9-40b6d05de309

Still nothing like Skylons idea. It may well the same end goal, but a completely different way of doing it, almost as different in execution to each other as they are to the Shuttle.

Conventional Jet engines and set of engines that run first as ramjets then as scram jets, still not one engine type for the entire flight is it?

Small point the Sabre engine works as a jet engine, then a ramjet and then a pure rocket. At take off it acts like jet engine with a compressor fan pushing air into the combustion chamber and burnt with hydrogen. At higher speeds it changes function to a ramjet and finally a pure rocket. Its the same concept but a with a more complex engine. This is a higher risk than the less complex US design. However the US have engines flying as part of a funded development programme whereas Skylon is just a design with no funding. The US are at least 5-10 years ahead and I doubt with 1/2 of Europe being in perma recession the sabre engine will ever fly.

 

[antipunt]

This acronym thing is getting out of hand.
When I saw the title, I had recently marathoned the Jimquisition, and he talks about the Entertainment Software Association a decent amount, so when I saw the title, I wondered what the hell this had to do with Entertainment Software.
Reminds me of this:

What's better than Pandas?

Pandas WWF. Picture saved, thanks

 

[Strazdas]

Its nice to see some progress back on space race. i was afraid that with rest of the world standing still it wont be long till china pulls rank over us, but it seems that we can still have an edge. and if this works, huge economical edge.

P.S. capcha: done that. it seems that capcha is a scientist.