The UK Space Agency’s report on the SKYLON technical assessment, for which the European Space Agency (ESA) was commissioned, has concluded that it could not find anything that would prevent successful continued development of SKYLON and agreed with objectives of the proposed next stage of the development program.
SKYLON is an unpiloted, reusable single stage to orbit (SSTO) spaceplane that will provide reliable access to space and be capable of delivering payloads of up to 15 tons into Low Earth Orbit (LEO, approx. 300km) at about 1/50th of the cost of traditional expendable launch vehicles, such as rockets. SKYLON’s SABRE engines use liquid hydrogen combined with oxygen from the air at altitudes up to 26km and speeds of up to Mach 5 before switching over to onboard liquid oxygen for the final stage of ascent.
The UK Space Agency’s commissioned report concluded that ‘no impediments or critical items have been identified for either the SKYLON vehicle or the SABRE engine that are a block to further developments’.
Dr David Parker, Director of Technology, Science and Exploration at the UK Space Agency, said, "Both SABRE and SKYLON are exciting new technologies which could transform access to space. ESA's positive assessment should give everyone increased confidence that Reaction
The UK Space Agency’s technical assessment process was comprised of two parts. The first was a series of visits by technical experts from ESA to review Reaction Engines’ designs and witness critical tests of component performance.
The second part was the SKYLON System Requirement Review, held in September 2010, at which almost 100 international aerospace experts posed questions and made comments on SKYLON’s technical and economic feasibility. “The review ended with a consensus that no technical or economic impediments to the development of SKYLON or SABRE had been found.”
Reaction Engines consider the review a success, and its spaceplane is attracting renewed interest from the international aerospace community.
Alan Bond, inventor of the SABRE engine and Reaction Engines’ Managing Director, commented: “Space has many things to offer humanity, but the sheer expense of rockets, which have served us well in the past is inhibiting the growth of commercial activity in space.”
COMMENTARY: I didn't even know that the U.K. had a space program until today. The UK Space Agency launched in March 2010, which is probably why I missed it, so I clipped a reprint of this article appearing in the U.K.'s The Independent.
Britain's got its own space agency today, represented by the Union Flag morphed into a soaring arrow.
The UK Space Agency, as it is officially named, took off with the help of British astronaut Major Timothy Peake.
But the accent at today's launch in London was on the dry realities of economics rather than Dan Dare.
Lord Mandelson was on hand to keep proceedings firmly grounded, despite the Science Minister Lord Drayson confessing that he would "like to see human beings living on Mars".
The Business Secretary said: "I think it is important to remember that although it is cutting edge, this stuff is not sci-fi.
"It may start in space, but it comes down to Earth very quickly and is directly relevant to all our daily lives."
Britain's mini-version of Nasa will take overall responsibility for UK space activities, replacing the soon-to-be defunct British National Space Centre (BNSC).
Operating initially from the BNSC's headquarters in Swindon, it will for the first time allow all aspects of civilian space policy to be handled "under one roof".
At present, space is the responsibility of a loose partnership of Government departments and research councils.
It is hoped the new agency will help Britain become more competitive in the global space economy, and make the most of the areas it excels in such as satellites, telecommunications and robotics.
The recession-defying industry already contributes around £6 billion a year to the economy and supports 68,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
Over the next 20 years it has the potential to grow to a £40 billion industry and create 100,000 jobs, said Lord Drayson.
"The action we're taking today shows that we're really serious about space," he said. "The UK Space Agency will give the sector the muscle it needs to fulfil its ambition."
Major Peake, a test pilot in the Army Air Corps, had the job of starting a countdown to unveiling the space agency's "flying arrow" logo, displayed on a large screen at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre.
The astronaut is currently undergoing training in Russia prior to flying on missions to the International Space Centre.
He was one of six Astronaut Corps recruits chosen by the European Space Agency last year, and is Britain's first "home grown" astronaut.
Maj Peake, who normally flies Apache attack helicopters, described the establishment of the UK Space Agency as "a very positive move".
He added: "I think it recognises the huge success story that the British space industry has been and sets the scene for us to take that success into the future.
"Britain has an enormous amount of talent in areas such as telecommunications and robots.
"It's extremely important that we do try to encourage our younger generations to take up these sorts of careers, and today goes a long way towards achieving this."
Germany, France and Italy also run their own space agencies as well as having ESA membership.
The UK Space Agency will officially begin operations on April 1.
Its launch today coincided with the creation of a new £40 million centre of "space excellence" at Harwell, Oxfordshire.
The International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC), funded by public and private investment, is supported by a £12 million grant from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis).
It will work alongside the UK Space Agency to act as the "hub" of Britain's space interests, encouraging research and development, business incubation, and the creation of intellectual property.
The Space Innovation and Growth Team (Space IGT), a collaboration of industry chiefs, government representatives and academic experts, welcomed today's developments.
A statement from the group said: "Space is a truly global business and without appropriate support, the national interest is difficult to protect.
"It is hoped that the UK Space Agency will have the powers necessary to ensure our domestic industry realises its full potential on the world stage."
Lord Drayson said one important job of the agency would be to raise the profile of Britain's space industry.
"The UK's amazing success in space is not as widely recognised by the public as it should be," he said.
He said he would like to see space vehicles launched from the UK one day.
Lord Drayson said that at the age of nine he watched TV broadcasts of the Apollo missions and saw the astronauts who walked on the moon as "heroes".
He revealed more of his vision for space when asked what he hoped to see happen in the next 50 to 100 years.
"I'd certainly like to see human beings living on Mars," he said. "That should be do-able technically over that period."
Sir Martin Sweeting, executive chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, one of Britain's most successful space companies, said: "Today's announcements are an important step for UK space which both the space sector and the nation should celebrate.
"Our space industry is both technologically advanced and highly competitive - we have a successful track record and the UK economy cannot afford to miss out on this growing commercial market.
"Space is an increasing part of our everyday lives and appropriate government support for innovation by industry before it reaches commercial maturity is critical to ensure that the UK will continue to change the economics of space for the benefit of the nation and the tax-payer."
Ian Godden, chairman of aerospace, defence and security trade organisation ADS, said: "We have long had a successful, albeit relatively unknown, space industry, and we are encouraged that the sector is receiving deserved recognition through this promise of future Governmental support.
"The UK space industry is one of our most innovative and exciting sectors, and has the potential to contribute significantly to the UK economy both in terms of high-end manufacturing jobs and revenue creation."
He went on: "In addition to wealth creation, space possesses the ability to inspire people to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and careers. The Space IGT will ensure that the scale of these activities remains on the up, and we will play our part in driving this ambition forward."
The UK Space Agency will begin with a very modest operating budget of some £230 million. In comparison, the American space agency Nasa has a budget of around £12 billion.
CNES, the French space agency, has a budget of around £600 million, which excludes its contributions to the ESA.
Spending on military space applications falls within the remit of the Ministry of Defence since the UK Space Agency is a purely civilian body.
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From the looks of things, the UK Space Agency has serious plans to enter the space age. That SKYLON Space Plan is one bad ass spacecraft. Reminds me of the our SR-71 Black Bird, with its black color shade, sleek look and massive rocket engines. This thing is going to make a lot of noise when it takes off.
SKYLON PROGRAM OVERVIEW
A fleet of vehicles is envisaged; the design is aiming for re-usability up to 200 times. In paper studies, the costs per kilogram of payload are hoped to be lowered from the current £15,000/kg to £650/kg (as of 2011), including the costs of research and development, with costs expected to fall much more over time after the initial expenditures have amortised. The cost of the programme has been estimated by the developer to be about $12 billion.
The vehicle design is for a hydrogen-powered aircraft that would take off from a conventional runway, and accelerate to Mach 5.4 at 26 km using atmospheric air before switching the engines to use the internal liquid oxygen (LOX) supply to take it to orbit. It would then release its payload, which can weigh up to 15-tonnes, and re-enter the atmosphere. The payload would be carried in a standardised payload container or passenger compartment.
During re-entry the relatively light vehicle would fly back through the atmosphere and land back at the runway, with its skin protected by a ceramic composite. It would then undergo inspection and any necessary maintenance and, if the design goal is achieved, be able to fly again within two days. As of 2010, only a small portion of the funding required to develop and build Skylon has been secured. The research and development work on the SABRE engine design is proceeding under a small European Space Agency (ESA) grant. In January 2011, REL submitted a proposal to the British Government to request additional funding for the Skylon project. In April 2011, REL announced that they had secured $350 million of further funding contingent on a test of the engine's precooler technology being successful in June.
SKYLON SPECIFICATIONS
The fuselage of Skylon is expected to be carbon fibre space frame; a light and strong structure that supports the weight of the aluminium fuel tanks and to which the ceramic skin is attached. Multiple layers of reflective foil thermal insulation fill the spaces of the frame.
The currently proposed Skylon model C2 will be a physically large vehicle, with a length of 82 metres (269 ft) and a diameter of 6.3 metres (21 ft). Because it will use a low-density liquid oxygen fuel, a great volume is needed to contain enough energy to reach orbit. The propellant is intended to be kept at low pressure to minimise stress; a vehicle that is both large and light has an advantage during atmospheric re-entry compared to other vehicles due to a low ballistic coefficient. Because of the low ballistic coefficient, Skylon would be slowed at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. As a result, the skin of the vehicle would only reach 1100 Kelvin (K). In contrast, the smaller Space Shuttle is heated to 2000 K on its leading edge, and so employs an extremely heat-resistant but extremely fragile silica thermal protection system. The Skylon design need not use such a system, instead opting for using a far thinner yet durable reinforced ceramic skin. However, due to turbulent flow around the wings during re-entry, some parts of Skylon would need to be actively cooled.
Skylon would employ a highly-loaded tightly spaced wheel assembly, to save weight and also interior space when the wheels are retracted into the fuselage. Because this wheel design distributes the weight of the aircraft and the force of its landing over a smaller area of the runway, it would require a specially strengthened runway. It will possess a retractable undercarriage with high pressure tires and water cooled brakes. If problems were to occur just before a take-off the brakes would be applied to stop the vehicle, the water boiling away to dissipate the heat. Upon a successful take-off, the water would be jettisoned, thus reducing the weight of the undercarriage by many tons. During landing, the empty vehicle would be far lighter, and hence the water would be unneeded. The payload fraction would be significantly greater than normal rockets and the vehicle should be fully reusable (200 times or more).
I have a lot of fans following me from the U.K., so I don't want to poke too much fun of your new space agency, but I will definitely have to follow developments. Hopefully, you will be able to square away your huge deficit, like the U.S. or there won't be a space agency.
Courtesy of an article dated May 25, 2011 appearing in Robotic Trends and Wikipedia
Hope to see them moving in the real future.
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