Skylon, An Unpiloted Spaceplane Concept That Can Travel Anywhere on Earth in Under Four Hours

The Skylon is a unpiloted spaceplane concept designed by Reaction Engines that would be able to orbit the Earth and potentially take passengers or cargo anywhere on the planet in under four hours. The plane, which follows the company’s investment in the LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) project, would be the first vehicle to utilize the powerful mach five SABRE rocket engine.

It is the use of SABRE’s combined air-breathing and rocket cycles that enables a vehicle that can take off from a runway, fly direct to earth orbit and return for a runway landing, just like an aircraft.

images via Reaction Engines

via Space, Business Insider, Business Insider