 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace,Engineering |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founders | |
| Fate | Enteredadministration, 2024 |
| Headquarters | Culham Science Centre,Oxfordshire, England |
Key people |
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| Products |
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| Website | www |
Reaction Engines Limited (REL) was a Britishaerospace manufacturer founded in 1989 and based inOxfordshire, England.[1] The company also operated in the USA, where it used the nameReaction Engines Inc. (REI).
REL enteredadministration on 31 October 2024. Both REL and REI ceased operations and laid off the bulk of their staff.
In 1989, Reaction Engines was founded byAlan Bond (lead engineer on theBritish Interplanetary Society'sProject Daedalus),Richard Varvill andJohn Scott-Scott[2] (the two principalRolls-Royce engineers from theRB545 engine project). The company conducted research into space propulsion systems, centred on the development of theSkylon re-usableSSTOspaceplane. The three founders had worked together on theHOTOL project, funding for which had been withdrawn the previous year, in 1988.[citation needed]
In 2015,BAE Systems agreed to buy a 20% stake in the company for £20.6m as part of an agreement to help develop Reaction Engines' Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), a hypersonic engine designed to propel the Skylon orbiter.[3][4]
In April 2018,Boeing announced an investment in Reaction Engines, through Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with a $37.3 millionSeries B funding alongsideRolls-Royce.[5][6] Rolls-Royce and REL announced a strategic partnership in August 2020, with a £20m investment.[7]
In January 2023, the company announced that it had raised a further £40m from backers including theUnited Arab Emirates Strategic Development Fund.[8][9]
At the end of October 2024, after unsuccessful attempts to raise more money from investors,[10] the company ceased operations, laying off the majority of staff and enteringadministration.[9][11]
Skylon was a design for asingle-stage-to-orbitcombined-cycle-powered orbital spaceplane.
Skylon, and the SABRE engine by which it was to be powered, were being developed as a private venture which aimed to overcome the obstacles that were imposed on further HOTOL development due to the British governmentclassifying the HOTOL engine as an official secret, and keeping the engine design classified for many years afterward.
The company's development effort was focused on developing a ground demonstration of the SABRE air-breathing core, with additional funding gained from the sale of consultancy and spin-off applications from its heat exchanger expertise.
In February 2009, theEuropean Space Agency announced that it was partially funding work on Skylon's engine to produce technology demonstrations by 2011.[12][13] With this funding, Reaction Engines completed a non-frosting sub-zero heat exchanger demonstration program,Bristol University developed the STRICT expansion/deflection nozzle, andDLR completed an oxidiser-cooled combustion chamber demonstration. Reaction claimed this work moved the Skylon project to aTRL of 4/5.
In July 2016, at theFarnborough Air Show, Reaction Engines announced £60 million in funds from theUK Space Agency and ESA to create a ground-based SABRE demonstration engine by 2020.[14]
Commenting on work undertaken at TF2 in Colorado, in April 2019, Reaction Engines announced that it had successfully tested the precooler technology forsupersonic conditions needed to prevent the engine from melting,[15] and in October 2019, Reaction announced that it successfully validated its precooler forhypersonic (Mach 5) conditions.[16]
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In January 2014, Reaction entered into aCooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the United StatesAir Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to assess and develop SABRE technology.[17]
In 2015 AFRL announced their analysis "confirmed the feasibility and potential performance of the SABRE engine cycle". However they felt SSTO as a first application was a very high risk development path and proposed that aTwo Stage to Orbit (TSTO) vehicle was a more realistic first step.[citation needed]
In 2016 AFRL released two TSTO concepts using SABRE in the first stage: The first 150 feet (46 m) long carrying an expendable upper stage in an underside opening cargo bay capable of delivering around 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg; 2.3 t) to an orbit of 100 nautical miles (190 km), the second 190 feet (58 m) long carrying a reusable spaceplane on its back, capable of delivering around 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg; 9.1 t) to an orbit of 100 nautical miles (190 km).[18]
In March 2017, Reaction announced the formation of an American subsidiary, Reaction Engines Inc (REI), led by Adam Dissel in Castle Rock, Colorado.[citation needed]
In September 2017, REI announced a contract fromDARPA to test a Reaction precooler test article "HTX" at temperatures exceeding 1,000 °C (1,830 °F; 1,270 K),[19] previous precooler tests focusing on frost control having been conducted from ambient temperature.[citation needed]
On 5 February 2008, the company announced it had designed a passenger plane to the concept stage. TheLAPCAT A2 would be capable of flying, non-stop, halfway around the world at hypersonic speed (Mach 5+).[20]
The engine,SCIMITAR, has precooler technology which is somewhat similar to SABRE, but does not have the rocket features, and was optimized for higher efficiency for atmospheric flight.
Although Skylon was designed to only launch and retrieve satellites, and would be uncrewed, Reaction Engines Ltd. proposed a passenger module in the payload bay of the Reaction Engines Skylon spaceplane.[21]
The passenger module was sized to fit in the payload bay, and early designs could carry up to 24 passengers and 1 crew. There was anISS-type docking port and airlock as the central feature. There were two ground entry doors that align with the doors on the side of the Skylon payload bay to allow easy ground access to the cabin. The doors were fitted with conventional inflatable chutes for passengers to escape in case of any ground emergency. There could have been Space Shuttle-type windows on the roof of the module for passengers to enjoy the view in space. There was also awashroom and hygienic facilities provided in the cabin.[21]
Further studies refined the concept, with an initial configuration to be fitted with five ejector seats, for four passengers and one crew, similar to the first fourSpace Shuttle spaceflights. Once the passenger module was fully certified, the ejection seats would be removed and there would be 16 upright seats installed for a short stay in space (<14 days) and foursupine seats for a long stay in space (>14 days). An upright seat would also be provided for the crew. There were also life support systems under the cabin floor, equipment bays, and cargo holds.[22]
TheOrbital Base Station (OBS) was a concept of a future, expandablespace station to serve as an integral part of a future space transportation system and also in the maintenance and construction of future crewed Moon and Mars spacecraft.[23]
The construction of the OBS was modular, and assumed the use of the Reaction Engines Skylon in Low Earth Orbit. The structure iwas based on a cylinder, designed to allow space inside the cylindrical section for the construction and repair of various spacecraft. The cylindrical structure would also provide space for habitation modules with docking ports, manipulator arms, and propellant farms to refuel an interplanetary spacecraft.
TheReaction Engines Troy Mission was a concept of a futurecrewed mission to Mars. The concept arose to confirm the capability of the Skylon launch vehicle that it could enable large human exploration to theSolar System's planets.[24]
The Troy spacecraft concept consisted of a robotic precursor mission, including an Earth Departure Stage, and a Mars Transfer Stage. There was a habitation module, a storage module, and a propulsion module to be deployed from the spacecraft to land together at a selected site on the Martian surface to form a base. There were also ferry vehicles that would transfer crew members to and from the base to an orbiting crewed spacecraft. There would have been three precursor spacecraft to Mars to set up three bases on the planet to enable maximum exploration of the planet's surface.
50 days after launch, the Earth Departure Stage was to be brought back to low Earth orbit by the Earth's gravity, and the Fluytspace tug would bring the stage back to the Orbital Base Station for construction of the later crewed mission.[citation needed]
The crewed spacecraft would consist of 3 habitation modules, 3 docking ports, and two ferry vehicles. The spacecraft would rotate along the centerline to provideartificial gravity. It would leave Earth with the Earth Departure Stage and transfer to Mars with the Mars Transfer Stage, andrendezvous with the precursor spacecraft in Martian orbit. The craft would dock together to enable the crew to transfer to the ferry vehicles for descent to the surface at a selected site. The crew, along with the equipped rovers, would spend 14 months to explore the Martian surface. The crew would return to Martian orbit with the ferry vehicle and rendezvous and dock with the orbiting crewed spacecraft. After a detailed inspection of the vehicle, the spacecraft would leave Mars for Earth on the Earth Return Stage. When the craft was captured in aMolniya orbit around Earth, the crew would board a ferry vehicle for transfer to low Earth orbit and rendezvous and dock with the waiting Skylon spacecraft for return to Earth.
Construction of the spacecraft would take place at the Orbital Base Station inside the cylindrical structure. Because the spacecraft was of highly modular design, the components would be brought up by the Skylon spacecraft. The rocket engines, fuel and oxidizer tanks, and habitation modules were sized to fit inside the Skylon payload bay, and that the fully assembled craft would also fit inside the cylindrical structure of the OBS.[25]
TheFluyt Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) was a concept of a futurespace tug. It would have had the ability to dock with orbiting spacecraft and move payload in orbit. It was conceived to be assembled from two parts, each sized to fit inside the Skylon payload bay, it would be launched from the Skylon and would also be an integral part for the construction of the Orbital Base Station as well as the Reaction Engines Troy and the retrieval of the Earth Departure Stage from the Precursor mission of the Troy mission.[26][27]
51°39′26″N1°13′50″W / 51.657228°N 1.230461°W /51.657228; -1.230461
