Skylon
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Britain throws another £60 million at the Skylon spaceplane, hopes mid-life crisis is over soon
After a series of successful tests on the Skylon spaceplane's SABRE engine, the UK government has decided to invest another £60 million to continue developing it. The scramjet-based tech could pave the way for cheaper space travel, since it carries little oxygen on board and can maneuver like an airplane before rockets kick it into orbit. Earlier, a key component that chills air from 1,830 to minus 302 degrees Fahrenheit in 1/100th of a second passed its trials with flying colors. That means the project team can move to the next phase: building and ground testing a prototype SABRE engine. Though billions of pounds more would be needed to eventually develop a Skylon vehicle, a European Space Agency spokesman thinks it would be worth it, saying "we have something here that is really unique." Let's hope they can match recent scramjet success stateside and avoid the whole crashing part.
Space travel coming to an airport near you? Maybe, if Skylon keeps its cool
Want to get from New York to Perth in under 4 hours, or maybe just head to outer space on a lark? Reaction Engines' "Skylon" mach 5 spaceplane might be your chariot -- or not. Its scheme of ingesting oxygen from the atmosphere instead of stowing it like a 50-year old modern multi-stage rocket sounds good, but the project's fate may hang on critical new tests. Failure is still a possibility, but if the high-speed, superhot gases can be cooled enough for the hybrid Sabre engines to work, and if Reaction Engines Limited can secure another round of funding, punching your space-ticket could soon be a very real possibility.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: hydrogen-powered space plane, Japan's solar surge and urban farms of Ze Future
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Green transportation took off for the stars this week as Inhabitat reported that the European Space Agency has approved of a new hydrogen-powered "Skylon" space plane, and we spotted a hot Star Wars-inspired electric chopper that wouldn't look out of place on the Death Star. We also learned that NASA plans to rejoin the space race with a new MPCV craft fit for deep space flights, while here on Earth we saw GE harness the power of the sun to charge Volt EVs before they hit dealerships. Speaking of solar power, Japan unveiled plans to construct 10 new solar power plants in the wake of the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis, while Switzerland announced that it will completely phase out the use of nuclear power. We also showcased a stunning chandelier made from 500 fluttering photovoltaic butterflies, and we saw Nevada kick-start construction on the US' first molten salt solar plant, which will generate energy long after the sun has set. We also brought you several incredible feats of architecture this week, from a restaurant made from a recycled Soviet airplane in Zurich to an innovative cocoon-like building made from sugarcane that recently won an AIA competition. We also showed how Plantlab is making vertical urban farms a reality, and we spotted a sky-high proposal for an energy-generating city on stilts that would hover over Manhattan. Finally, this week we rounded up some of our favorite eco apps and services that can help you green your consumption.
