Conservative MPs David Morris (Chair), Mark Garner and Andrew Griffith, as well as Stephen Morgan (Labour), Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat and Carol Monaghan (SNP) were briefed by President of Reaction Engines Inc. Dr Adam Dissel on the recent successful HTX test campaign at TF2. The HTX campaign saw Reaction Engines’ world-leading precooler exposed to air temperatures of 1000 degrees Celsius, mimicking the conditions that it would experience during hypersonic flight at more than five times the speed of sound.
The precooler, which was designed and manufactured at Reaction Engines’ facility in Culham, UK, is a vital enabling technology of the SABRE™ engine. It cools the hot air entering the engine at high speeds to ambient temperatures that can then be used to drive the engine’s turbo-machinery. This enables the SABRE engine to operate at far higher speeds in the atmosphere than existing jet engines.
In air-breathing mode in the upper atmosphere, SABRE has the potential to revolutionise high-speed flight and enable a new class of hypersonic aircraft. In rocket mode, SABRE can greatly reduce the cost of space access over existing systems, while also bringing aircraft-like levels of availability and reliability.
