ESA gives green light to Skylon spaceplane

Summary: There are no major barriers to the development of the UK Space Agency's Skylon spaceplane and the new Sabre engine that drives it, the European Space Agency has said in an assessment

By Ben Woods | May 27, 2011 -- 14:57 GMT (07:57 PDT)

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Skylon spaceplane in orbit

The European Space Agency (ESA) has completed a technical assessment of the Skylon spaceplane and concluded there are no major technical stumbling blocks to continued development of the craft or its engine.

The Skylon, shown in an artist's impression above, is an unpiloted, single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane being developed by the UK Space Agency. The ESA said in a report it can be created "with today's current technology" and, if future engine tests are successful, it will represent "a major breakthrough in propulsion worldwide". The European Space Agency report (PDF) was released by the UK Space Agency on Wednesday.

Oxford-based Reaction Engines, which is signed up to manufacture the spaceplane, said the Skylon will be capable of delivering payloads of satellites and equipment of up to 15 tonnes into low Earth orbit — around 300km above the Earth.

Photo credit: Reaction Engines

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