Reactor Engines, a British aerospace company, says it's successfully tested a rocket engine that could eventually allow for supersonic flight to space.
The company's engine can cool air from 420 degrees Celsius to room temperature in less than a second, the company said. Traditionally, rockets have had to carry massive tanks of fuel to burn, adding to their weight and aerodynamic profile.A British company developing a rocket engine that can combust using oxygen from the air, as opposed to carrying liquid oxygen like traditional rockets, says it's passed a"significant milestone" for supersonic flight.
Reaction Engines' SABRE engine, along with technology that can cool air from more than 400 degrees Celsius to room temperature in 1/20th of a second, could allow space-going ships to look more like airplanes than traditional fuel-laden rockets with their ballooning storage tanks.
Passed*
passed*