The SABRE engine and SKYLON space plane 4 June 2014
Current Access to Space (Expendable launch vehicles) What is wrong with todays launchers? - Cost (>$100M per flight) - Operations (> 3 month preparation) - Reliability (2-5% loss rate per flight) Outcome Only 50-100 worldwide flights/year.
Characteristics for True Commercial Operations o Cheap, reliable, easy to operate (ie: like an aircraft) o However the above characteristics increase hardware mass & increase the mission velocity requirements. o Consequently such a vehicle cannot be built with state of the art LOX-LH 2 rocket engines. o A breakthrough in propulsion technology is required.
HOTOL the World s first reusable SSTO spaceplane design In the 1980 s the British Aerospace / Rolls Royce HOTOL project (SSTO) aimed to achieve cheap access to space. HOTOL was powered by a revolutionary new engine invented by Alan Bond The pre-cooled air-breathing/rocket engine.
Company Origins Noordwijk 1990 Bond Varvill Scott-Scott Reaction Engines Ltd was founded in 1989 by Alan Bond, Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott. The Company goal is to revolutionise Access to Space
Company History Building on our HOTOL experience we evolved the vehicle design into SKYLON, and the RB545 engine design into SABRE. We eventually managed to raise sufficient private investment to rent offices in the Culham Innovation Centre and start practical experimentation (2001). We have been growing ever since..
SKYLON and SABRE
S K Y LO N Entry to Service Targets 15T payload to Equatorial LEO 200 reuses 1% abort rate per mission 1:20,000 loss rate per mission 48 hour turnaround
The SABRE Engine Cycle A helium power loop is interposed between the hot airflow and the cold hydrogen fuel flow this generates the power to drive the air compressor. In rocket mode LOX replaces the air fed to the combustion chamber.
The SABRE Engine Layout With the exception of the heat exchangers most of the engine components are relatively conventional gas turbine, ramjet and rocket technology.
REL addressed most of the key technologies in Phase 2
Pre-cooler Production
Pre-Cooler B9 Test Facility Silencer VIPER jet engine Nitrogen Boiler Circulator Pre-cooler Helium Loop Data Acquisition
SKYLON Vehicle Configuration Overview Active foreplanes Central payload bay Delta wing with aileron roll control Circular crosssection fuselage Plan view OMS engines SABRE 3 engine Front view Rear view All moving tail fin Side view Curved nacelle (rocket thrust and intake incidence) 10 metres
Sy n e r g e t i c A i r b r e a t h i n g Ro c ke t E n g i n e Auxiliary propellant tankage Forward hydrogen tank Payload bay Forward oxygen tank Rear hydrogen tank Rear oxygen tank Orbit manoeuvring engines SABRE engine Undercarriage
A i r s h i p S t r u c t u r e s
SKYLON Fuselage Construction Reinforced SiC fibre / glass ceramic aeroshell Titanium multifoil insulation Silicon carbide fibre reinforced titanium Aluminium cryogenic LH2/LOX tankage with PVC foam insulation
SKYLON Technology Programmes Re-entry Modelling with DLR Braunschweig using TAU CFD code Aeroshell Material with Imperial College CASC Silicon carbide fibre reinforced Titanium Struts with TISICS Ltd (TSB supported)
SKYLON Economics compared Development cost $ 8 billion $ 15 billion $ 14 billion Production run ~100 units 30 units + 420 units + Unit price $ 180 million ~$ 1000 million $ 320 million Payload 20 tonnes 15 tonnes 152 tonnes Flights per vehicle 1 200 5000+ Loss probability * 2.10-2 5.10-5 5.10-8 Price per flight $ 180 million $ 20 million $ 0.3 million * per mission
D e v e l o p m e nt of the S A B R E e n g i n e 10bn Programme SABRE SKYLON 6bn 3.64bn Phase 3 0.36bn 3 ½ Years 9 ½ Years Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 January 2014 April 2014 October 2017 October 2023
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