(Source: Reaction Engines)

Company News

The D1 redesign of SKYLON is progressing well. The preliminary trajectory analysis has been fed into a preliminary configuration analysis to establish how the vehicle will be trimmed in aerodynamic flight. This is the start of an iterative cycle of performance analysis and configuration definition with increasing refinement and detail which will lead to the final D1 definition.

Work has started on the payload provision based on the interfaces proposed in Revision 1 of the SKYLON Users’ Manual. The public consultation produced no suggestions for any changes whatsoever (which was a bit of a surprise) so as a consequence those interfaces are now being worked into the D1 vehicle design.

Work also started on defining D1’s Auxiliary Propulsion System. This system performs many functions on SKYLON; orbit manoeuvring, reaction control, the supply reactants to both the fuel cells and hydraulic power unit, and heat absorption during re-entry. As part of this work, Lolan Naicker of Cranfield University will conduct a postgraduate research project as part of his MSc Astronautics and Space Engineering looking at the SOMA engine which provides SKYLON’s orbit manoeuvring propulsion.

The first firm results from the Reaction Engines trade mission to the USA (as reported last month) came in February with the placing of a small study contract with the Physical Science Laboratory at the New Mexico State University. NMSU will be undertaking a preliminary evaluation of the requirements that SKYLON D1 will need to meet for safe autonomous flight based on their extensive heritage with unmanned flight vehicles, their expert knowledge of the US National Airspace System, and their expertise and experience in the Global Airspace System.

General News

On 10th February at the QEII Conference Centre in London, the Space Innovation and Growth Team (Space IGT) released a report by the Space industry to advise Government on future Space policy. REL contributed to the report entitled ‘A UK Space Innovation and Growth Strategy 2010 – 2030’ and had a small exhibition stand in the foyer at the opening. SKYLON featured in the promotional movie as seen on the BNSC website.