Hypersonic program at risk after Reaction Engines goes belly up

A major player in aerospace innovation has bitten the dust. Reaction Engines, a developer of hypersonic engine technology since 1989, has gone into administration and its closure is having a major impact on the hypersonic weapons program of Britain and others.

Founded 35 years ago by Alan Bond, the lead engineer on the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus and the designer of British Aerospace's HOTOL single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane, and chaired by Philip Dunne, a former defense minister, Reaction Engines focused on developing advanced space propulsion systems. Its primary goal was to one day build the company's Skylon spaceplane, though it also farmed out its key technologies to other projects and conducted tests for customers, including the US Air Force.

The company's Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), with its regenerative cooling system that could protect a hypersonic jet engine by instantly cooling the incoming air using liquid hydrogen, attracted investors such as BAE Systems, which purchased 20% of Reaction Engines stock in 2015, and led to funds coming from Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and others.

However, this year, the company found itself in major financial difficulties due to unexpectedly slow growth and the inability to secure an additional £150 million (US$193 million) in funding, followed by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce being unwilling to put up bail-out capital.

As a result, as of October 31, Reaction Engines is in the hands of administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The company's website forwards to PwC where there is a notice saying that further information will be released to creditors as the available assets are assessed. According to Sky News, 173 of the company's 208 staff were made redundant.

The repercussions of Reaction Engines going under are widespread. The company was a major player in the British government's £1-billion ($1.3-billion) Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) program to build Britain's first hypersonic missile. The loss of the SABRE technology has destroyed the program's lead and will have the government scrambling to repair the damage.

In addition, the cooling technology is used by more down-to-earth customers, including several Formula 1 teams through Mercedes-Benz.

"It's with great sadness that a pioneering company with a 35-year history of spearheading aerospace innovation has unfortunately been unable to raise the funding required to continue operations," said Sarah O’Toole, joint administrator and partner at PwC. "We know this is a deeply uncertain and unsettling time for the Company's talented and dedicated employees. We are committed to providing them with all the necessary support at this time."

Source: PwC