We use a vehicle which is as complex as a jumbo jet not surprisingly costing about the same one way, once only. On 9 February Alan Bond of Reaction Engines gave a joint meeting in Bristol of the IoP and the RAeS an alternative vision. Not quite an airline, but not far off. This is Skylon, a revolutionary spaceplane which could cut the cost of access to space by a factor of ten. Alan gave us a sketch of an aerospace vehicle which took off where Concorde left us 20 years ago, using applied thermodynamics and systems engineering to achieve its revolutionary goals.
Advanced materials enable the light but strong structure essential for reusability.
Although the UK Government is unwilling to support launcher developments there is interest elsewhere. Notwithstanding the lack of official interest, Alan acknowledged the great help he has had from UK universities in detailing his ideas. And of course there was our large and enthusiastic audience of engineering and physics students, as well as old stagers, to show that visionary technical concepts can still capture the imagination. Roger Moses Roger is based at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol. He is a current member, and former Chair, of the Branch Committee.