AFRL Gives Seal of Approval to British Air-breathing Engine Design

[bananas]

http://spacenews.com/afrl-gives-seal-of-approval-to-british-air-breathing-engine-design/

AFRL Gives Seal of Approval to British Air-breathing Engine Design
by Peter B. de Selding — April 17, 2015

PARIS — The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has answered with a qualified “yes” the question of whether a British company’s revolutionary air-breathing rocket engine, designed for a horizontal-takeoff vehicle climbing to orbit with a single stage, holds promise.

AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate looked at Reaction Engines Ltd.’s Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, SABRE, as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

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AFRL’s conclusion is that SABRE is an interesting technology that is technically feasible and that may find earlier applications in two-stage-to-orbit rockets or defense applications.

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“The question to answer next is what benefit SABRE could bring to high-speed aerospace vehicles compared to other propulsion systems,” Hellman said. “Although application of the SABRE for single-stage-to-orbit space access remains technically very risky as a first application, the SABRE may provide some unique advantages in more manageable two-stage-to-orbit configurations. Furthermore, the heat exchanger technology also warrants further investigation for applications across the aerospace domain.”

Reaction Engines said in a statement that the company and AFRL are planning further joint work on the SABRE, including “testing of SABRE engine components and exploration of defense applications for Reaction Engines’ heat-exchanger technologies.”

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[Gumboot]

1. Damn clever Brits :)

I bet it was designed on the back of a cigarette packet, in someone's shed.