Wednesday, March 20, 2019

BBC News - UK's air-breathing rocket engine set for key tests


Not ready for flight tests, it is a test of the pre-cooler systems.  These tests have occurred earlier, but the upcoming tests are a bit more rigorous, if I am understanding the story correctly.

If it goes on a Skylon spaceplane, it will be a SSTO platform.  Didn't someone ask the question of: do these "suck"?

The Skylon might be better than a flying gas can.  That's what they said about the cancelled VentureStar SSTO program.  The key is re-usability and a quick turnaround time.  Smaller payloads could be justified if the turnaround time was shorter.  The idea is cheaper operations.  Lower cost to orbit.




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