BAE Systems

A main application of the SABRE engine is to power the Skylon spaceplane

Astronomy

Key component of the SABRE hypersonic engine passes Mach 5 test

Reaction Engines's Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) engine has passed a major milestone, as a key component handled conditions equivalent to an airspeed of Mach 5 (3,704 mph, 5,961 km/h).

A technician soldering components in a RAD5545 single-board computer

Astronomy

BAE Systems unveils rad-hard space computer

Space is a very hostile place for electronics, so BAE Systems is rolling out its new RAD5545 single-board computer designed to survive the hard radiation in space while providing "exponential improvements" over the company's previous RAD750 SBC in terms of size, speed, and power-efficiency.

Skylon is designed to significantly reduce ground-to-orbit costs

Astronomy

BAE Systems and Reaction Engines to develop hypersonic space engine

Reaction Engines' single-stage-to-orbit Skylon spacecraft took a step closer to reality today as BAE Systems announced that it would buy a 20 percent stake in the company.