spaceplane

futureReaction Engines Targets 2020 to Test Hypersonic Engine for Space Planes

January 24, 2019 | Brian Wang |
 
In 2018, Reaction Engines has been building two test facilities which they will use to validate the performance of key parts of the SABRE™ spaceplane hypersonic engine. In the US test facility (TF2) will enable the precooler test article (HTX) …
More

japanJapanese startup making reusable spaceplanes

September 17, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
PD Aerospace is a Japanese startup that is trying to build reusable spaceplanes. They want to reduce the cost of access to space by 100 times. They want to create sub-orbital space tourism. They want their first space plane flying …
More

darpaUS Air Force has $1.2 billion in new hypersonic weapon spending to catch up to Russia and China

April 22, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
The U.S. Air Force this week awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a $928 million contract to develop a prototype hypersonic cruise missile, or the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon. The project is one of two hypersonic weapon prototyping efforts the service is …
More

airplaneChina claims it has designs for a mass production hypersonic engine

April 22, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
China has designs for a mass production hypersonic engine for low-cost planes or spacecraft capable of traveling five times faster than the speed of sound. The plant that would be built in Hefei, in China’s eastern Anhui province, could give …
More

darpaBoeing HorizonX Invests in Reaction Engines which is on track to 2020 hypersonic airplane engine test

April 12, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
Reaction Engines Limited (‘Reaction Engines’) today announced that it has raised a further £26.5 million in a strategic fundraising by securing backing from some of the most influential names in aerospace and finance which will support its development of SABRETM …
More

futureUS Air Force putting $10 billion into next generation fighter designs with hypersonic tech and AI

February 25, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
The US Air Force is already accelerating the development of a sixth-generation fighter as China ramps up its military. The Air Force is investing $10 billion in the next generation fighter platform over the next five years. This is $2.7 …
More

futureGoogle Satellite Pictures capture what is either a hypersonic vehicle prototype or an unusual drone

January 11, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
An object that looks like it could be a hypersonic vehicle prototype has appeared in satellite photos. It could also just be an unusual drone. Some commenters think it might only be a racing boat. Based on the other parked …
More

futureLockheed may have completed a prototype hypersonic SR72

January 9, 2018 | Brian Wang |
 
Jack O’Banion, Vice President of Strategy and Customer Requirements, Advanced Development Programs for Lockheed Martin, at a presentation said that the SR72 could not have been made without digital transformation. This seems to indicate that a hypersonic vehicle has been …
More

futureHypersonic spaceplane company building test facility with DARPA funding

December 18, 2017 | Brian Wang |
 
Reaction Engines has begun construction of a new high-temperature airflow test facility where it plans to validate the performance of its precooler heat exchanger technology, an enabler of its revolutionary SABRETM engine. Located at the Front Range Airport near Watkins, …
More

chinaChina is building a mach 40 wind tunnel to test hypersonic weapons

November 15, 2017 | Brian Wang |
 
China is building the world’s fastest wind tunnel to simulate hypersonic flight at speeds of up to 12 kilometers per second (mach 40, 43200 kph, 26843 mph). A hypersonic vehicle flying at this speed from China could reach the west …
More