Revolutionary space engine system for Skylon tested

[Kunal Biswas]

Revolutionary space engine system for Skylon tested

British engineers have begun a crucial series of tests of an experimental engine technology that its designers believe could revolutionise space travel.

The Skylon project is a concept for a spaceplane which could fly from runway to orbit in a single stage.

The key is a unique design for an engine that operates as a jet and rocket motor combined.

The critical component is a specially-designed cooling system to handle the high temperatures of rapidly-flowing air.

David Shukman was given exclusive access to the tests at Culham Science Park in Oxfordshire.

BBC News - Revolutionary space engine system for Skylon tested

 

[sukhish]

now this would be a ball busting technology, if it comes through. one more reason why UK is a permenent five. these kind of technologies are only being conceptualized and tested in the west. although India is also catching up slowly. isro dream of having single TSTO would have to deal with these chanllenges.

 

[balai_c]

Is skylon airborne? How far has it travelled? If this is tested on earth, then we have tested the scramjet engine , a crucial component of the avatar reusable space plane. Unless this is airborne, nothing is spectacular. Americans have similar projects in the pipeline. The AVATAR space-plane is very similar in concept. We need to know more, before showering praises. It really has a long way to go.

 

[balai_c]

Avatar (spacecraft)

AVATAR (Sanskrit: अवतार) (from "Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation") is a single-stage reusable spaceplane capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, being developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization along with Indian Space Research Organization and other research institutions; it could be used for cheaper military and civilian satellite launches.

When operational, it is planned to be capable of delivering a payload weighing up to 1,000 kg to low earth orbit. It would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about US$67/kg. Each craft is expected to withstand 100 launches.

The idea is to develop a hyperplane vehicle that can take off from conventional airfields, collect air in the atmosphere on the way up, liquefy it, separate oxygen and store it on board for subsequent flight beyond the atmosphere. The AVATAR RLV was first announced in May 1998 at the Aero India 98 exhibition held at Bangalore. It is planned to be the size of a MiG-25 fighter and would be capable of delivering a 500 kg to 1,000 kg payload to low earth orbit at very low cost for an estimated vehicle life of 100 launches.

AVATAR is proposed to weigh only 25 tonnes in which 60 per cent of mass will be liquid hydrogen fuel. The oxygen required by the vehicle for combustion is collected from the atmosphere, thus reducing the need to carry oxygen during launch. AVATAR is said to be capable of entering into a 100-km orbit in a single stage and launching satellites weighing up to one tonne

 

[balai_c]

Boeing X-37

The Boeing X-37 (also known as the X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle) is an American unmanned spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a rocket, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Air Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies.[1] It is a 120%-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40.

The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004. It conducted its first flight as a drop test on 7 April 2006, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The spaceplane's first orbital mission, USA-212, was launched on 22 April 2010 using an Atlas V rocket. Its successful return to Earth on 3 December 2010 was the first test of the vehicle's heat shield and hypersonic aerodynamic handling. A second X-37 was launched on 5 March 2011, with the mission designation USA-226.

Glide tests

The vehicle that was used as an atmospheric drop test glider had no propulsion system. Instead of an operational vehicle's payload bay doors, it had an enclosed and reinforced upper fuselage structure to allow it to be mated with a mothership. In September 2004, DARPA announced that for its initial atmospheric drop tests the X-37 would be launched from the Scaled Composites White Knight, a high-altitude research aircraft.[8]

On 21 June 2005, the X-37A completed a captive-carry flight underneath the White Knight from Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California.[9][10] Through the second half of 2005, the X-37A underwent structural upgrades, including the reinforcement of its nose wheel supports. Further captive-carry flight tests and the first drop test were initially expected to occur in mid-February 2006. The X-37's public debut was scheduled for its first free flight on 10 March 2006, but was canceled due to an Arctic storm.[11] The next flight attempt, on 15 March 2006, was canceled due to high winds.[11]

On 24 March 2006, the X-37 flew again, but a datalink failure prevented a free flight, and the vehicle returned to the ground still attached to its White Knight carrier aircraft. On 7 April 2006, the X-37 made its first free glide flight. During landing, the vehicle overran the runway and sustained minor damage.[12] Following the vehicle's extended downtime for repairs, the program moved from Mojave to Air Force Plant 42 (KPMD) in Palmdale, California for the remainder of the flight test program. White Knight continued to be based at Mojave, but was ferried over to Plant 42 when flights were scheduled. Five additional flights were performed,[13] two of which resulted in X-37 releases with successful landings. These two free flights occurred on 18 August 2006 and 26 September 2006.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

No news has beeen released about AVATAR in a long time any updates?

 

[anoop_mig25]

Avatar (spacecraft)
AVATAR (Sanskrit: अवतार) (from "Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation") is a single-stage reusable spaceplane capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, being developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization along with Indian Space Research Organization and other research institutions; it could be used for cheaper military and civilian satellite launches.

When operational, it is planned to be capable of delivering a payload weighing up to 1,000 kg to low earth orbit. It would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about US$67/kg. Each craft is expected to withstand 100 launches.
The idea is to develop a hyperplane vehicle that can take off from conventional airfields, collect air in the atmosphere on the way up, liquefy it, separate oxygen and store it on board for subsequent flight beyond the atmosphere. The AVATAR RLV was first announced in May 1998 at the Aero India 98 exhibition held at Bangalore. It is planned to be the size of a MiG-25 fighter and would be capable of delivering a 500 kg to 1,000 kg payload to low earth orbit at very low cost for an estimated vehicle life of 100 launches.

AVATAR is proposed to weigh only 25 tonnes in which 60 per cent of mass will be liquid hydrogen fuel. The oxygen required by the vehicle for combustion is collected from the atmosphere, thus reducing the need to carry oxygen during launch. AVATAR is said to be capable of entering into a 100-km orbit in a single stage and launching satellites weighing up to one tonne

is it really possible can DRDO really develope it