Reaction Engines Limited
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| Private | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Culham Science Centre, Oxfordshire, England |
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Key people
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Alan Bond (founder) |
| Products | Orbital spaceplanes, airliners, heat exchangers |
| Website | http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/ |
Reaction Engines Limited (REL) is a British aerospace manufacturer based in Oxfordshire, England.
Reaction Engines was founded in 1989 by Alan Bond (lead engineer on the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus) and Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott (the two principal Rolls-Royce engineers from the RB545 engine project). The company conducts research into space propulsion systems, centred on the development of the Skylon re-usable SSTO spaceplane. The three founders worked together on the HOTOL project, funding for which was withdrawn in 1988, largely due to significant technical obstacles.
The division of responsibilities is:
In 2015 BAE agreed to buy a 20% stake in the company as part of an agreement to help develop Reaction's Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) hypersonic engine designed to propel the Skylon orbiter.
Skylon is a design for a single-stage-to-orbit combined-cycle-powered orbital spaceplane.
Skylon and the SABRE engine by which it will be powered are being developed as a private venture which aims to overcome the obstacles that were imposed on further HOTOL development due to the British government classifying the HOTOL engine as an "Official Secret," and keeping the engine design classified for many years afterward.
The company's current research effort is focused on precooler heat exchanger technology, with additional funding gained from the sale of consultancy. The company has also received funding from the EU to investigate applications of its technologies to rapid long-distance passenger transport, under the LAPCAT project.
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Wikipedia