UNITED KINGDOM -- The Sabre is a rocket engine that is specifically designed to take space planes out into the orbit. This technology can indeed change the way spaceplanes are driven out into space and can take commercial planes of various airliners around the world in just a few hours time.
In order for spaceplanes to fly near the orbit, this plane has to be able to manage high temperature flow in the atmosphere. The team from Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) has just developed the technology to make it happen. They have the heat-exchanger for the sole purpose of making the Sabre resist the high temperatures present as it traverses into the Earth's orbit.
This technology is a key element in taking space flights to a whole new level. It demonstrated quite a remarkable performance that its engineers are proud of what they have completed by far. The research study shows that the Sabre has the ability to handle various simulated flying conditions with pressure more than three times that of sound. In the initial testing, it was able to quench 420C stream of gas in less than 1/20th of a second.
The group of scientists from REL claims this device would be able to fly off into space or around the world in about five times the speed of sound. This could pave the way to the rapid dumping of energy with an airflow of 1,000-degrees. "We are now able to prove the claims that we have made and now we come with the data to support it," says Mark Thomas, REL's CEO. "In the most recent experiment that we conducted, we have instantaneously transferred roughly 1.5 megawatts worth of heat energy," he further added. This testing was done in Colorado Air and Space Port in the US within a dedicated facility.
Engineers describe the Sabre as a combination of a jet engine and that of a rocket engine. When put in low speed and low altitude, it can behave like a jet. It will burn its fuel in a stream of air whose remnants will be visible in the atmosphere. However, when put at high speed and high altitude situations, it will transition into its full rocket mode. The fuel will combine with the oxygen supply giving the spaceplane the boosts it needs for elevation.
Indeed, this technology brings about new ways on how people can get out into the orbit and discover the many things that we need to understand about the universe we are in. However, such a project comes with challenges and one of which is the immense heat that it releases. Such conditions would normally melt the insides of the spacecraft. Sabre's pre-cooling system seeks to keep the melting from happening. The testing continues to happen in Colorado.
Scientists and engineers believe that this new development in the Sabre will only continue to find progress all for the safety and security of those aboard it.
