Errymath: spaceplane

Radical hypersonic engine to take to the skies

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<img alt="The Oxfordshire-based firm has been developing a turbine that combines both jet and rocket technologies to achieve rates five times the speed of sound, to fly anywhere in the world in just four hours" class="blkBorder img-share" height="411" id="i-3de34ee97994867f" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D2508A00000578-0-image-a-26_1474927727645.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-1">
  
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sabre engine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The Oxfordshire-based firm has been 
developing a turbine that combines both jet and rocket technologies to 
achieve rates five times the speed of sound, to fly anywhere in the 
world in just four hours</span> </span></div>
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<h3 class="mol-para-with-font" style="text-align: left;">
'Fighter jet' sized 4,000mph engine that could go from New York to London in under two hours to be built</h3>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Plans for a
 revolutionary hypersonic propulsion system have now taken a big step 
toward the construction of a ground demonstrator – but at roughly a 
quarter the size of the original vision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Reaction
 Engines Ltd has scaled back its design for the Sabre engine to bring 
about a demonstrator that is more affordable and better suited to early 
applications, including a potential X-plane.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 Oxfordshire-based firm has been developing a turbine that combines both
 jet and rocket technologies to achieve rates five times the speed of 
sound, to fly anywhere in the world in just four hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Rather
 than aiming for a demonstrator that can achieve more than 150,000 lb 
thrust, the firm will instead now target an engine size capable of 
roughly 44,000 lb thrust, according to <a class="" href="http://m.aviationweek.com/technology/reaction-engines-refines-hypersonic-engine-demonstrator-plan" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Aviation Week Network.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In
 the new plans for the Sabre demonstrator, researchers will target a 
smaller engine similar in size to the F135 engine for the F-35 joint 
Strike Fighter (JSF).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Such a
 system, scaled back due to the slowness of funding, could be used in 
multistage vehicles or hypersonic craft the size of an X-plane.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘It
 is now more affordable, more rapid to execute and will potentially find
 its first application quicker,’ Reaction CEO Mark Thomas told Aviation 
Week Network.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘It’s
 a quarter of Sabre, effectively. In an application for something like 
Skylon, the engine would have four combustion chambers connecting to the
 single nozzle, a bypass system and the same turbomachinery, intake and 
heat exchanger.</span></div>
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<img alt="In the new plans for the Sabre demonstrator, researchers will target a smaller engine similar in size to the F135 engine for the F-35 joint Strike Fighter (pictured)" class="blkBorder img-share" height="498" id="i-af890743f1965e1f" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D25DD100000578-0-image-a-33_1474928261870.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-2">
  
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In the new plans for the Sabre 
demonstrator, researchers will target a smaller engine similar in size 
to the F135 engine for the F-35 joint Strike Fighter (pictured)</div>
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                            <h3 class="wocc">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b>FUTURE OF FLIGHT? HOW THE SABRE JET ENGINE WORKS</b></span></h3>
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<img alt="A model of the revolutionary Sabre engine is pictured  " class="blkBorder img-share" height="210" id="i-1f70e4470def49ef" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D24FA800000578-0-image-m-30_1474927848912.jpg" width="306" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">A model of the revolutionary Sabre engine is pictured  </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 revolutionary Sabre engine could allow aircraft to take off from a 
runway and accelerate to five times the speed of sound, before switching
 to a rocket mode, propelling it into orbit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Sabre engine works by burning atmospheric air in combustion chambers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It then uses the heat to turbo-charge the engine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">At
 the moment, rockets have to carry liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to 
power them and the cost of carrying this heavy fuel is expensive. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 new engine creates its own liquid oxygen by cooling air entering the 
engine from 1,000°C to minus 150°C in a hundredth of a second – six 
times faster than the blink of an eye – without creating ice blockages.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><img alt="The revolutionary Sabre engine could allow aircraft to take off from a runway and accelerate to five times the speed of sound, before switching to a rocket mode, propelling it into orbit. A computer generated image of the ground demonstrator is pictured " class="blkBorder img-share" height="487" id="i-6fee8f882282e7cb" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D24F7D00000578-0-image-a-29_1474927825765.jpg" width="624" /></span><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-3">
  
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">The revolutionary Sabre engine could 
allow aircraft to take off from a runway and accelerate to five times 
the speed of sound, before switching to a rocket mode, propelling it 
into orbit. A computer generated image of the ground demonstrator is 
pictured.  <i>dailymail</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This
 new class of aerospace engine is designed to enable aircraft to operate
 from standstill on the runway to speeds of over five times the speed of
 sound in the atmosphere. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It
 can then transition to a rocket mode of operation, allowing spaceflight
 at speeds up to orbital velocity, equivalent to 25 times the speed of 
sound.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘There
 is a view that you could modularize the engine to a far higher degree, 
so that you could have four compressors and still have a large heat 
exchanger. From this point onward you could go completely modular, so if
 you could demonstrate one element, then it is all about integration.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Along
 with a JSF-sized engine for the ground demonstrator, the firm plans to 
solve the power gap between air-breathing and rocket engines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">While the engine is still in the design phase, the firm plans to see three main test phases stretching into the 2020s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It’s
 hoped that the first test will take place within the next 12-15 months,
 the CEO tells AWN, with a focus on the heat exchanger and the core.</span></div>
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<img alt="Rather than aiming for a demonstrator that can achieve more than 150,000 lb thrust, the firm will instead now target an engine size capable of roughly 44,000 lb thrust. Pictured, an artist's impression of the Lapcat A2 craft flying at Mach 5" class="blkBorder img-share" height="361" id="i-b9095df2e5c05df2" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D24F9400000578-0-Rather_than_aiming_for_a_demonstrator_that_can_achieve_more_than-m-32_1474928235437.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-4">
  
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Rather than aiming for a demonstrator 
that can achieve more than 150,000 lb thrust, the firm will instead now 
target an engine size capable of roughly 44,000 lb thrust. </div>
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Pictured, an 
artist's impression of the Lapcat A2 craft flying at Mach 5</div>
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<img alt="Here, a concept of the Skylon spaceplane using the engine is shown. But now, Reaction Engines Ltd has scaled back its design for the Sabre engine to bring about a demonstrator that is more affordable and better suited to early applications, including a potential X-plane" class="blkBorder img-share" height="448" id="i-246d2e0fbde4222d" src="http://mol-images.s3.amazonaws.com/i/newpix/2016/09/26/23/38D24F8400000578-0-image-a-35_1474928327122.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-5">
  
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Here, a concept of the <i>Skylon 
spaceplane</i> using the engine is shown. But now, Reaction Engines Ltd has 
scaled back its design for the Sabre engine to bring about a 
demonstrator that is more affordable and better suited to early 
applications, including a potential X-plane. <i>dailymail</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Then, the team will move on to the integrated engine tests in 2020-2021.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 system will undergo sea-level testing, and researchers will simulate 
high velocity air by heating the air flow. And, they will run wind 
tunnel tests to assess flow conditions.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In the third phase, the firm is looking toward concepts of an X-plane or flight demonstration aircraft to put it to the test.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 core will eventually be tested in the UK, meaning Reaction will need to
 build a test facility with a hydrogen/air breathing preburner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In July, it was announced that the European Space Agency has invested $11 million toward the development of the engine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Along
 with this, Reaction Engines announced that it had secured over $66 
million in funding from the British government, with more than $55 
million from the UK Space Agency, and the ESA contribution acting as the
 final piece.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">At
 the moment, rockets have to carry liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to 
power them and the cost of carrying this heavy fuel is expensive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 new engine creates its own liquid oxygen by cooling air entering the 
engine from 1,000°C to minus 150°C in a hundredth of a second – six 
times faster than the blink of an eye – without creating ice blockages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This
 allows the engine to run safely at much higher power than is currently 
possible, without the risk that it will overheat and break apart. </span><i>dailymail</i></div>
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<b>Lapcat A2 craft flying at Mach 5</b>
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Radical hypersonic engine to take to the skies

Sabre engine. The Oxfordshire-based firm has been developing a turbine that combines both jet and rocket technologies to...

Hybrid Hypersonic Spaceplane Could Reset The 21st Century Space Race

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China is developing a perspective hybrid reusable space vehicle that will combine three different kinds of engine technologies, reported <i>CCTV.</i><br /><br />Namely, the new ship that is being developed as a “combination powered aircraft” will rely on an indigenous turbine, ramjet and rocket engines to power the spaceship in different phases of the flight into space. Such technology, China hopes will make orbit traveling that will span between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the Earth much cheaper.<br /><br />The idea envisions that the combination of engines will allow the aircraft to take off like an airplane and land at an airport facility, saving costs by getting rid of the expenses associated with the space launch facility.<br /><br />Scientists believe that they are capable of producing an aircraft that will take off at low speed using a high-performance aviation turbine engine or air-breathing rocket engine. After reaching a certain speed, supersonic combustion ramjet engine will kick allowing the vehicle to reach the upper atmosphere where the rocket engine will be used to break through Earth’s gravity.<br /><br />“We have made a long-term plan of taking about three to five years to master the key technologies, and significantly improve the capability of the spacecraft during the application,” said Zhang Yong, China Aerospace Science & Technology Corp, as quoted by Xinhua. “We aim to implement the technology in suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030.”<br />
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hybrid </span><span style="font-size: large;">Hypersonic Spaceplane Could Reset The 21st Century Space Race</span></h1>
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    Chinese Hypersonic Spaceplane<br />

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    This screenshot from state television broadcast on the hypersonic
 spaceplane shows an aerodynamically optimized aircraft beginning to 
accelerate to hypersonic speeds. Operating such a spaceplane by 2030 
would place China ahead of the space race, and other races. <i>Popular Science</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>It takes off from a runway, flies at hypersonic speeds, then rockets into orbit.</b></span> <br />

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While
 SpaceX is making news with its recoverable rockets, China announced 
that it is working on the next big thing in spaceflight: a hypersonic 
spaceplane.<br />
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The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is beginning 
advanced research on a high tech, more efficient successor to the 
retired Space Shuttle, with hybrid combined cycle engines that can 
takeoff from an airport's landing strip and fly straight into orbit. The
 hybrid space plane's combined cycle engines would use turbofan or 
turbojet engines to takeoff horizontally from a landing strip. Once 
airborne, the engine then shifts to ramjet propulsion and, as speed 
increases, adjusts into a scramjet engine with supersonic airflow.  At 
the scramjet stage, the hybrid spaceplane would enter hypersonic flight 
in 'near space', the part of the atmosphere between 20km to 100km above 
sea level.  Finally, the hybrid spaceplane would use its rocket motors 
to push out of near space and into orbit.<br />

Broadcasts by both state television broadcaster CCTV, and its English
 service, note that the CASTC spaceplane's easy reusability would 
exponentially bring down space launch costs.<br />
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<img alt="China Combined Cycle Turbo-ramjet engine Variable Cycle" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=Nc4IptoZ" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=2bZCD0bP" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=Uk1ioWfj" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=Nc4IptoZ" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=1HQwUvSv" height="600" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/chinese_combined_cycle_engine.jpg?itok=Nc4IptoZ" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
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    shinobiyan at cjdby.net<br />

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    Combined Cycle Engine<br />

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    The combined cycle engine shares the same inlet and exhaust 
nozzle for both the turbojet/turbofan and ramjet. In the upper diagram, 
the air intake ramps behind the ramjet spike direct airflow into the 
turbo core. In the bottom diagram, the air intake ramps gradually block 
off air flow to the turbo core, redirecting air into the ramjet 
combustion engine for high supersonic (Mach 3.0-Mach 4.0). Chinese 
combined cycle engines like this blueprint would be paired with a 
scramjet (presumably via changing the ramjet) and a separate rocket 
motor to create a hypersonic space plane.<br />
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<img alt="Skylong Space Plane Reaction Engines" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=Y99eqP4A&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=CQMs8sZi&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=m9cHxy4_&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=Y99eqP4A&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=MImbU7Eb&fc=50,50" height="500" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/skylon_space_plane.jpg?itok=Y99eqP4A&fc=50,50" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
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    Reaction Engines Limited<br />

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    Skylon<br />

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    While the Skylon and the Chinese hypersonic space plane are both 
powered by combined cycle air breathing engines and rocket motors, the 
British Skylon uses pre-cooled jet engines built by Reaction Engines 
Limited to achieve hypersonic atmospheric flight, as opposed to 
scramjets.  Both spacecraft will probably first fly around the mid 
2020s.<br />
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<img alt="China Hybrid Spacecraft" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=88NvTk20&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=FBPybI4y&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=5LYurwmJ&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=88NvTk20&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=3U0-ucS0&fc=50,50" height="572" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hybrid_spacecraft.jpg?itok=88NvTk20&fc=50,50" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
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    CCTV 13<br />

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    Hybrid Propulsion<br />

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    While this CCTV-13 clip of the hybrid spacecraft appears instead 
to show a conventional space rocket, China plans to have a combined 
cycle engine and rocket motor prototype ready for testing by 2021. <i>Popular Science</i><br />
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Zhang Yong, a CASTC engineer, claimed that China will 
master the spaceplane's technologies in the next three to five years, 
and a full-scale spaceplane would then enter service by 2030.<br />

Interestingly, another CASTC engineer, Yang Yang, mentioned that the 
spaceplane would improve "ease of access to space for untrained 
persons," as the space plane would have more gradual acceleration than a
 space launch rocket (reducing the physical strain on astronauts during 
takeoff), suggesting a version of the spaceplane which could be used for
 space tourism.<br />
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<img alt="China UAV Mach 4 Supersonic Hypersonic" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=l5IATJEe" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=-oz7JG7M" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=rRHwRt1X" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=l5IATJEe" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=g979qbzp" height="612" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/hypersonic_testbed.jpg?itok=l5IATJEe" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
  <div class="field-credit">
    Bai Wei via lt.cjdby.net<br />

</div>
<div class="field-title">
    The Missing Drone<br />

</div>
<div class="field-body">
    China was rumored to make the first flight of a Mach 4+ test 
drone in September 2015. Launched from an H-6 carrier aircraft, the 
drone fired up its combined cycle turbo-ramjet engine to accelerate from
 subsonic to high supersonic speeds. Given CASTC confidence in applying 
preexisting aeronautical experiments to build a working prototype by 
2021, it seems that the September 2015 flight was for real.<br />
<br />

</div>
</div>
</div>
Getting the complex technologies, like the combined cycle
 ramjet/turbo engine, in the reported timeline is an extremely ambitious
 target. Yet China is actually a world leader in a number of the key 
technologies for the project. In 2015, Professor Wang Zhengou was 
awarded the Feng Ru prize (China's top aeronautical medal) for his work 
in successfully developing and flying a scramjet engine, making China 
the second nation in the world after the United States to master 
scramjet technology. CASTC's rapid research timeline also suggests that 
the reports in 2015 of a Mach 4 test flight for a recoverable drone 
testbed for a combined cycle ramjet/turbofan engine were accurate. And 
China also has the world's largest hypersonic wind tunnel, the Mach 9 
JF-12, which could be used to easily test hypersonic scramjets without 
costly and potentially dangerous flight testing at altitude.<br />

China already has a variety of advanced solid-and liquid-fuelled 
space rockets and even China's historical weakness in turbine engines 
may not be a problem (the proven WS-10 turbofan is likely to provide 
enough thrust for the combined cycle engine's ramjet to take over). For 
CASTC, the biggest challenge may be in integrating all these components 
into a single propulsion package, as well as building an airframe light 
and strong enough to resist the rigors of hypersonic flight and 
atmospheric reentry<br />
<br />

<div class="media media-element-container media-default full-width shareable">
<img alt="China hypersonic aircraft" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=xinf_3wz&fc=50,50" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=PNxN6tth&fc=50,50" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=eMUK2X3N&fc=50,50" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=xinf_3wz&fc=50,50" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=0yqPNpHx&fc=50,50" height="560" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/images/2016/08/china_hypersonic_bomber_1.jpg?itok=xinf_3wz&fc=50,50" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
  <div class="field-credit">
    <a class="vglnk" href="http://www.armystar.com/" rel="nofollow"><span>www</span><span>.</span><span>armystar</span><span>.</span><span>com</span></a><br />

</div>
<div class="field-title">
    The Future of the PLAAF, 2030?<br />

</div>
<div class="field-body">
    This "what if" piece of CGI fan art from the Chinese Internet 
shows what a hypersonic military aircraft could look like; with a 
streamlined fuselage, a large ventral air intake and relatively small 
wings. (The artist imagines that this hypersonic bomber could carry a 
payload of eight tons.) Flying in near space (20km to 100km altitude), 
hypersonic aircraft can easily dodge existing air defenses (and they are
 generally too maneuverable for anti-satellite and missile defense 
systems to work well against them).<br />
<br />

</div>
</div>
</div>
Whether the project meets with success within the 
targeted timeframe or it slips by several years, the results would be 
significant, and not just on the civilian side of any space race. In 
addition to increasing the rate of access and lowered costs for space 
launches, the Chinese military could draw direct military benefits from 
the combined cycle engine technology. Without the rocket motor 
component, the combined cycle engine would be a good fit to power 
hypersonic UAVs and manned aircraft. Flying in near space at speeds 
above Mach 5, such aircraft could have global reach, while their speed 
and high altitude would make them effectively immune to all existing air
 defense systems (though the turbine part of the engine would need to 
emphasis fuel efficiency and high thrust to weight).<br />
<br />

<div class="media media-element-container media-default full-width shareable">
<img alt="China Hypersonic Plane Bomber Shadow Dragon" class="full-width shareable unveil-processed full-visible" data-lgsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=YHmT8uFs" data-medsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=WWguETuj" data-smsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/small_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=PwvkRao2" data-src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=YHmT8uFs" data-xlsrc="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/xl_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=cbPWMYmd" height="750" src="http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/large_1x_/public/shadow_dragon.jpg?itok=YHmT8uFs" width="1000" /><a class="colorbox-button cboxElement linkTargets-processed" href="http://www.popsci.com/chinas-hybrid-spaceplane-could-reset-21st-century-space-race"> </a><div class="caption-wrapper indent">
  <div class="field-credit">
    Wendell Minnick<br />

</div>
<div class="field-title">
    Shadow Dragon Hypersonic Bomber<br />

</div>
<div class="field-body">
    The Shadow Dragon hypersonic bomber concept, from the PLAAF's 
Engineering College, won a second prize in the 4th National Future 
Aircraft Design Competition at the 2010 Zhuhai Airshow. That the PLAAF 
has long been making such high profile public efforts to promote 
hypersonic and near space aircraft suggests that such systems are 
envisioned to be a key part of China's future arsenal. <i>Popular Science</i><br />
<br />

</div>
</div>
</div>
Coming on the heels of other Chinese space advances, 
including the successful tests of a 3 meter diameter solid rocket 
booster, and the fuel turbopump for the LM-9 superheavy rocket, the 
present attention given to such a longterm project is notable.  The high
 profile broadcast of Chinese breakthroughs in space technologies 
suggests that, in addition to boosting Chinese prestige, the Chinese 
leadership is looking to raise public awareness and support to justify 
costly investments in next generation space technology like hybrid 
spaceplanes and super heavy "Moon" rockets.  Getting the first mover 
advantage in these aerospace milestones would definitely give China 
superpower status in both Earth and space. <i>Popular Science</i><br />
<br />
<br /></div>

Hybrid Hypersonic Spaceplane Could Reset The 21st Century Space Race

China is developing a perspective hybrid reusable space vehicle that will combine three different kinds of engine technologies, repor...

Russia reveals hypersonic stealth aerospace bomber able to travel anywhere in the world in two hours

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI393id0WESG8QIDHGRXE7Z5fMVIUQwpZSE1ZTGhyphenhyphenveIG-4HqUyW_EE_jLcGgt872GR08Jt_tmnMgbo3DUb1hXbwAfXw5CQijehYxjiMkZLyObFWKwPuHNkv_f7ipVBfl0DOOhwe-1oC4/s1600/PAK-DA+bomber+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI393id0WESG8QIDHGRXE7Z5fMVIUQwpZSE1ZTGhyphenhyphenveIG-4HqUyW_EE_jLcGgt872GR08Jt_tmnMgbo3DUb1hXbwAfXw5CQijehYxjiMkZLyObFWKwPuHNkv_f7ipVBfl0DOOhwe-1oC4/s1600/PAK-DA+bomber+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="ext-gen185" style="font-size: 1.2em;"> <span style="font-size: small;">PAK-DA bomber. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
H<span class="s2">ypersonic aerospace bomber to make nuclear strikes from outer space possible. </span><span class="s2"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s2">The engine’s projected speed will allow the bomber to reach any point on Earth in under two hours. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Combine an air-rocket ramjet engine with a pulsating combustion chamber. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The new aircraft—equipped with an engine able to work both in airspace 
and outer space—was, at the time, conveniently needed for delivering 
supplies to an international orbit station.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s2">A functional model of the bomber’s engine will be developed by 2020.</span></div>
<span class="s2">Russia plans to exhibit the engine at the upcoming International Military-Technical Forum—“<a href="http://www.rusarmyexpo.com/army2016" target="_blank">ARMY-2016</a>“—in Moscow.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaOkwTZHdR-bej9Iy76DFHhzeuwvbSwzxnETzZgkb6bWBT8pmTWNF2xuxT29a2YGT_qFufev987TvjgayWFnyZTlZQ6Y1rKT-qOS96Awvp2GjD3NvZioDlDcFV3C54wakYULEuqxdt-o/s1600/PAK-DA+bomber+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaOkwTZHdR-bej9Iy76DFHhzeuwvbSwzxnETzZgkb6bWBT8pmTWNF2xuxT29a2YGT_qFufev987TvjgayWFnyZTlZQ6Y1rKT-qOS96Awvp2GjD3NvZioDlDcFV3C54wakYULEuqxdt-o/s1600/PAK-DA+bomber+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
<i></i><br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It has been said whoever controls space controls the world – and Vladimir Putin is certainly trying his best to do so.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><a href="http://observer.com/2016/07/russia-building-hypersonic-aircraft-capable-of-dropping-nuclear-bomb-on-us-from-space/" target="_blank">Russia is planning a hypersonic rocket-like jet</a> which can strike targets from space with nuclear missiles.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Flying at five times the speed of sound, the bomber will be able to reach any point on earth in under two hours.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Billed as the first of its kind, it would be able to drop a nuclear warhead before returning to its base in Russia.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">A functional engine will be developed by 2020, according to Colonel Alexei Solodovnikov, who is working on the project.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen186">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He
 said: ‘This will be a strategic aircraft. It will fly into outer space 
in order to strike, using nuclear bombs, and then return to the 
airfield.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span id="ext-gen185" style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 test engine for the PAK-DA bomber is expected to be shown at the Army 
2016 International Military Technology Forum in September near Moscow.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Colonel
 General Sergei Karakayev, the commander of Russian Strategic Missile 
Forces, confirmed the model engine for the bomber was built and had been
 successfully tested.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He
 said: ‘An engine for a promising space plane has been developed at 
Strategic Rocket Forces Academy. The unit’s operational ability has been
 proven.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘The idea is that the bomber will take off from a normal home airfield to patrol Russian airspace.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘Upon
 command it will ascend into outer space, strike a target with nuclear 
warheads and then return to its home base.’ Mr Solodovnikov added: ‘It 
will [be able to accelerate to] hypersonic speed in rocket mode.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-img-group xwArtSplitter">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
<img alt="A prototype of a next generation Russian vbomber design being wind tunnel tested" class="blkBorder img-share" height="564" id="i-6eaa81531581b752" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/14/23/363FADF200000578-3689325-A_prototype_of_a_next_generation_Russian_vbomber_design_being_wi-a-8_1468534857618.jpg" width="962" /><br />
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</div>
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<div class="imageCaption" id="ext-gen187">
A prototype of a next generation Russian vbomber design being wind tunnel tested</div>
<div class="imageCaption" id="ext-gen187">
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">According
 to the Strategic Missile Forces Academy, the engine will operate in two
 modes, one using kerosene fuel for conventional flight and the other 
methane and oxygen to power the craft into space.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">British
 firm Reaction Engines says its own hypersonic engine will be ready by 
2020. The European Space Agency has invested more than £7.5million 
toward the development of the SABRE engine, which could enable aircraft 
to fly anywhere in four hours.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">US
 officials have not revealed whether their own next generation bomber 
will fly at hypersonic speed, but the US Air Force said in 2007 its 
aircraft would likely be subsonic to control costs.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">To fly hypersonic means flying at Mach 5, five times the speed of sound at 3,840 mph, or faster.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Britain’s
 closest programme to the Russian hypersonic jet is a top secret stealth
 drone being developed by BAE Systems. The £200million Taranis aircraft 
will be the most advanced built by British engineers.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-img-group xwArtSplitter">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;">
<img alt="The European Space Agency has invested $11 million toward the development of a new type of engine that could one day allow aircraft to fly anywhere in the world in just four hours. Pictured, an artist's impression of the Lapcat A2 craft flying at Mach 5." class="blkBorder img-share" height="439" id="i-85dae503c7c341ba" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/14/23/363327FE00000578-3689325-The_European_Space_Agency_has_invested_11_million_toward_the_dev-a-5_1468534857306.jpg" width="962" /><br />
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<div class="imageCaption" id="ext-gen188">
The
 European Space Agency has invested $11 million toward the development 
of a new type of engine that could one day allow aircraft to fly 
anywhere in the world in just four hours. Pictured, an artist's 
impression of the Lapcat A2 craft flying at Mach 5. <i>dailymail</i></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It is 
expected to provide the basis for fleets of supersonic unmanned bombers 
that can attack deep into enemy territory while evading sophisticated 
defences.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">An
 RAF source said: ‘The RAF has a futuristic programme called Taranis 
which is a stealth drone with similar capabilities but it does not 
operate in the outer atmosphere.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Britain’s
 current fastest jet is the Eurofighter Typhoon, which has a top speed 
of around Mach 2, or 1,550 mph. Speaking about US capabilities compared 
to the Russians’, the RAF source said: ‘Whatever you can imagine in your
 wildest dreams the US has probably advanced thirty years on that. If 
the Russians are developing it the US will already be streets ahead.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">After
 the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, by the 
USSR in 1957, then US senator Lyndon Johnson warned: ‘Whoever controls 
space controls the world.’ In 1983 president Ronald Reagan proposed the 
creation of the infamous space-based Strategic Defense Initiative.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This
 plan for a satellite-regulated missile shield that could automatically 
dismantle incoming nuclear weapons was immediately dubbed Star Wars. It 
was launched after the president’s speech testifying to the superior 
nuclear capabilities of the Soviet Union.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Although
 work was begun on the programme, the technology proved too complex and 
much of the research was eventually cancelled or scaled back.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox sciencetech" id="8611c5f0-4a11-11e6-967b-099efdb5b660">
<h3 class="wocc">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b>FUTURE OF FLIGHT? HOW THE SABRE JET ENGINE WORKS </b></span></h3>
<h3 class="wocc">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b><br /></b></span></h3>
<div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc">
<div class="mol-img-group float-r">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic">
<img alt="They say the first ground demonstrator Sabre engine could be ready for testing by 2020" class="blkBorder img-share" height="309" id="i-1b4618a4bedd3124" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/14/23/3633280500000578-3689325-They_say_the_first_ground_demonstrator_Sabre_engine_could_be_rea-a-7_1468534857601.jpg" width="640" /> </div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
They say the first ground demonstrator Sabre engine could be ready for testing by 2020.  <i>dailymail</i></div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">British Reaction Reaction Engines says its  hypersonic engine will also take to the skies by 2020.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 revolutionary Sabre engine could allow aircraft to take off from a 
runway and accelerate to five times the speed of sound, before switching
 to a rocket mode, propelling it into orbit.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Sabre engine works by burning atmospheric air in combustion chambers. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It then uses the heat to turbo-charge the engine.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">At
 the moment, rockets have to carry liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to 
power them and the cost of carrying this heavy fuel is expensive. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 new engine creates its own liquid oxygen by cooling air entering the 
engine from 1,000°C to minus 150°C in a hundredth of a second – six 
times faster than the blink of an eye – without creating ice blockages.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">This
 new class of aerospace engine is designed to enable aircraft to operate
 from standstill on the runway to speeds of over five times the speed of
 sound in the atmosphere. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It
 can then transition to a rocket mode of operation, allowing spaceflight
 at speeds up to orbital velocity, equivalent to 25 times the speed of 
sound.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-img-group xwArtSplitter">
<div class="splitLeft">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic">
<img alt="The revolutionary Sabre engine could allow aircraft to take off from a runway and accelerate to five times the speed of sound, before switching to a rocket mode, propelling it into orbit. This design could also be used to send satellites into space at a fraction of the current cost. A pre-cooler is pictured above, at the test area" class="blkBorder img-share" height="500" id="i-c2b79c27316e963a" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/14/23/3632D8D100000578-3689325-The_revolutionary_Sabre_engine_could_allow_aircraft_to_take_off_-a-9_1468534857623.jpg" width="640" />   </div>
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="splitRight">
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<img alt="Computer generated image of ground-based SABRE test engine. BAE Systems and Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines has been developing a turbine that combines both jet and rocket technologies" class="blkBorder img-share" height="500" id="i-7801c50fd82a0a48" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/14/23/3632D8DA00000578-3689325-Computer_generated_image_of_ground_based_SABRE_test_engine_BAE_S-a-4_1468534857304.jpg" width="640" /> </div>
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<i>dailymail</i> </div>
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The 
revolutionary Sabre engine could allow aircraft to take off from a 
runway and accelerate to five times the speed of sound, before switching
 to a rocket mode, propelling it into orbit. This design could also be 
used to send satellites into space at a fraction of the current cost. A 
pre-cooler is pictured above, at the test area.</div>
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