SKYLON - The dream - Prof Simon 

as I been watching "Space Stuff" since Mercury, I hope I am still alive once this all comes to happen! Thank you! :D

These engines are a lot of fun to play with on Kerbal Space Program! I've designed MANY SSTO's using them, and stable re-entry has to be the hardest part of the overall designs. You have to make sure your center of lift is behind the center of mass, but not too much, and you need to make sure you have a proper amount of variable drag in the back to give yourself a shuttlecock effect. There couldn't be a more perfect game to teach rocket science and play with all the possibilities you can come up with. 6062 hours and counting.. not including the time playing the alpha and beta pre-releases. Time well spent, rocket science rules.

I was lucky to work for Alan Bond in the 1980’s. A very great man.

The British also paid no attention to Frank Whittle when he built Britan's first Jet Engine. Looks like they are doing it again.

Thank you for reminding me about Reaction Engines. When I first heard of them, I thought, "now this is a company that may very well be on the cutting edge of the future flight."

That is exciting!!! Good luck Alan Bond & Co and thanks Prof Simon for this video :)

Had no idea Gary Busey was a rocket scientist.

I suggest collaborating with Everyday Astronaut to making a video on this that includes experimental data on the hybrid engine. Healthy skepticism.

Thank you very much for that. professor Holland.👍

3:49 wow, that machine also converts the air from Fahrenheit to centigrade

Another excellent video. Keep it up Prof!

I love that fabulous engineering phrase, 'make the trig work'. Usually when trig works, it also looks cool asF

A literal, STAND BY FOR ACTION! The Thunderbirds would be proud!

PS. So glad you are following the wonderful ups and downs of Alan Bond.

Omg,I am astounded when this actually makes sense. You are brilliant at seeking the truth in this respect. We all should study more but I definitely appreciate those who give us perspective. Go Prof!

Wow i could listen to Alan Bond talk all day. What an interesting and knowledgable guy.

Great video. I went to the Isle of Wight last week and visited the batteries on the cliffs by the Needles. The new battery was converted to a rocket test stand for Black Arrow. Very interesting place, I climbed the railings and went into what I presume was the pump house for the cooling/silencing water. I was disappointed at our governments abandonment of this and many other aerospace technologies of the time. After watching this I have new hope in the future of the UK as a leading technological power.

Thanks Professor

Great video, super interesting! It will be great to see the concept becoming reality!

Ok, that was your coolest video to date.

I've come to learn that if they're talking about it now... They've BEEN using it! 😉

🤣 That Saber jet cycle diagram at 18:47 brings back memories. About 3 years ago, while I was an Aerospace graduate student, I was the teaching assistant in a jet propulsion course. For the midterms exam the professor chose to give this diagram and have the students develop an algorithm to solve the engine cycle and get its performance. Not a single one of them managed to complete the solution within the allotted 2 hours, and not even after we gave them an extra half hour.

I thought this was something from the 60's, but it's happening now! Thank god we still have some brilliant people

Love you Prof Simon! Awesome educator. ❤

Big fan of this technology too. The British government should have bankrolled this years ago. Maybe the UK would now have a monopoly to LOE rather than the Russians?

This is a necessity for human space flight. We need reusable crafts already, it's the 21st century now and rocketry is primitive. I enjoy watching your channel and the content you produce, thank you Simon✌🏼👍🏻🚀☄💥

Amazing to see a return of HOTOL. My father worked for BAE and was slated to be part of the project and was really disappointed when it was cancelled. Hopefully the government won't sell it off to the U.S.

This is really cool. Great film!

I've been following the progress of Reaction Engines for many years, hoping to see Skylon fly one day. Yet RE's home page no longer even mentions it. I suspect SpaceX's success with at least partial reusability has rather undermined the economics of Skylon, with Reaction Engines instead concentrating on engines for hypersonic aircraft. Edit from here on: I hope that this is a tactical retreat, to continue progress on the development of the engine, without potential investors worrying about SpaceX. So that once the engine is proven, the financial risks associated with Skylon will be much reduced. Airliners have been made so safe that most of us give safety scarcely a passing thought before boarding one. A space vehicle with airliner characteristics that doesn't have to come apart in flight and rely on rockets for a safe landing seems inherently safer than the alternatives. SpaceX may take the heavy lifting work for non-manned operations, but something like Skylon is surely the safest way of moving humans between the ground and orbit.

When I was 1 years old, in 1951 my parents took me with them to visit the “Festival of Britain”, a marvellous celebration of all things British in art and science. The centerpiece of the architecture display was a huge double ended spike that was suspended on wires that made it look like it was levitating. It became the symbol of British engineering excellence, and it was called “Skylon”

Love solving problems and thinking outside the box. This system makes total sense.

Amazing stuff, the most radical intercooler possible

Possible launch system, focused magnetic field. The Rotating Self Detonating Engine has a lot of potential also.

GO BRITS! GOOOO!

Great work being done by this visionary company at Wescott in Buckinghamshire at the former Bloodhound rocket engine factory. Very exciting times for a truly groundbreaking mode of hypersonic transport.

So glad to have found this channel.

Funny I always wondered if you could remove ice from a road if you vibrate it at a frequency that cracks the ice and leaves the asphalt alone using a piezoelectric speaker and vacuum, I tried but found the resonance was too close and damaged the road but I will revisit it. So sandwich them in with a condenser you may be able to keep the crystals from forming effectively allowing it to continuing to flow into the engine instead of creating ice from atmospheric humidity. I wonder if we could just float along the edge of space scooping up enough air to run the engine like a hydrofoil over an ocean of air, I realize the separation line is more subtle than may be needed but still cool to think. The idea of bouncing off the atmosphere I would think is less favorable comfort wise like the proposed waverunner with scramjets back in the day, I like the vibration idea, I was thinking also you could break the condenser / heat exchanger into individual sections or layers that heat up for a moment to remove the ice and then freeze again once the ice is clear... this sounds needlessly complex and metal usually doesn't like heat cool cycles.

that was really interesting professor Alan Bond i could listen to him for hours so have they got any further ? update please professor

Sometimes we forget just how incredible the human mind is and what we can achieve. Always seems funding or power is what holds us back one way or another. Love this and excited to see this all come to fruition.

I got a job there as EC&I engineer but had to turn it down, gutted, absolutely gutted. Glad to see them doing so well. It will put SpaceX and others on the dark side of the moon. Keep up the good work guys.

Their intercooler uses alcohol in the airstream to keep it from freezing up. Sorry. I don't have the URL of where I read this but it's not a guess. If they put these engines on a Black Horse style vessel (stage and a half, where the orbiter refuels in the air) they could orbit twice the payload for the same mass of craft.

Starship looks like a silver Skylon with the engines taken off the wings.

Great video as always. This is some cool tech.

this makes me even more excited for the future.

Deicing : Alternating Electrostatic charges, keep the water molecules disassociated and moving.

i think this guy is Adam Savage! If not, then he must be his father.

Fascinating stuff. Thank you.

Thanks for the content really appreciated for the efforts you put in sir 👍

22:55 “working on hypersonics back in the 50s and 60s”.... 🧐 makes ya kinda wonder what they came up with they don’t tell you about, I wonder...🛸🤔

I wondering what Chris Evans had been doing lately

This channel is very promising! I see a great future ahead for this channel. Imagine having this wise man as a dad or grandfather making such wickedly interesting videos combined with 21st century melancholic tunes and giggles like russel brand. No more boring family weekends ever. Just endless interesting conversations. If only I had one such fascinating person in my life.... i need to get out there more often. Prof simon holland you ROCK!! Ps: I’m from holland

Keep doing what you're doing, you're on your way.

Got sound :)

What a great video and so well explained ! Lets hope the UK Government sees the light and put the country first for a change otherwise I can see the americans trying to nab the science for free like they did with early supersonic flight !

This -was awesome !

Space will never be boring. Commonplace to get there but not boring!

Hi Simon

UK :spends billions on research and development China: crtl + c

Alan Bond gave us such a long explanation!! Thanks professor Simon!!

Thank you sir. Verry informative and a great video of great info. I always knew that the problem will be solved. I am waiting for the spaceplane to literally free the population of the world.

so why not use hydrogen per oxide as fuel ??and reduce the speed of the vehicle in orbit so it dos not generate so much heat during re-entry - as in have a fuel system placed in orbit to re- fuel the ship for the retro rockets

Even if the Skylon never flies? their pre-cooler is an absolute revolution - the Americans have paid a fortune to get their hands on it. Tests were successful a year or two ago? It's applicable to many engine designs - by now? a prototype is almost certainly being tested on hyper-sonic test vehicles within the upper echelons of secrecy.

Wonderful stuff to muse on, now we need someone to put the funding into it in order to get it off the ground. The principle appears reasonably sound and a viable one. Now we have to wait to see who will take it up. The most cost effective approach to orbital access I've seen in many a year. Thanks Prof Simon for rekindling my interest in this subject. Thumbs up! 😉👊👍

This is a fascinating video with all the current news on SpaceX and Blue Origin, etc. its nice to see other developments in progress. That is also the coolest man-cave-office ever btw!

Its a rare thing to hear an engineer who is clearly outstanding in his field. I suspect the Chinese will be first onto this. I was wondering what Elon musk could do for them as investors? £10m is highly restrictive budget for re writing rocket science and jet engines in one single project! Top vid thanks proff

One of the Busey’s got themselves an Engineering degree

Great video!

Good Stuff Boss 🤝 Hope they are successful.

I think this is Adam from MythBusters

ah skylon! its great! love it !!! its the best idea since sputnik! cant wait to see it happen! its going to give elon musk a good run for his money. ultrasonic sound to prevent iceing up the charge cooler. yeah very good guess! ive a feeling thats on the money!as for the exhaust, i would have liked to the use of an aerospike cooled with helium. ive been waiting to see something like this ! it ought to give the entire country a much needed boost! i hope the project stays under british control.it would be heartbreaking to see the americans or some other nation taking it over. the only thing needed is a cockpit for dan dare and digby; first men on mars!

Brilliant to see British engineering is still producing results. Cheers

Thank you!!! Very good!

It’s very saddening that we have come so far with our technology just to learn that the most terrible obstacle to date is proving to be human greed, sloth, and selfishness. We have been and still are our own worst enemy...

Wow, i didn’t know adam savage was a proffessor

I been following this for years. Hope it gets here soon. Be a game changer big time. Don't know why it taking so long.

Love the graphics

Elon Musk gets a lot of his inspiration from Buck Rodgers... 🚀

Should had this 30 year ago but was mothballed by bae and Rolls-Royce

This in my opinion is the best video at describing exactly what this thing is doing , i was clueless for years , i thought it made liquid o2 using venturi effect

Happy that the groups tests have surpassed expectations over and over now. Ready to see the flight test with a basic jet engine to prove it can handle flight as proposed. The on to the real deal.

continue with the good work.

Flying to space rather than brute force rockets will have a future when the problems are all solved. Reaction Engines has accomplished what others deemed impossible, I hope to see them begin test flights very soon.

8:44 I understand the point you are making, however, to clarify, the Space Shuttle only used one type of engine from launch to orbit and did not discard them, not counting the SRBs. It used three RS-25s (Space Shuttle Main Engines) that fired together through the entirety of the launch until the main tank was depleted. They were designed in such a way to function at lower altitudes while keeping their efficiency in vacuum. The two smaller OMS engines were only there to finish insertion and perform orbital maneuvers. Only the SRBs were discarded during the flight, and recovered for subsequent reuse.

I Salute You. Kind Sir. Thanks for sharing, shared.

What a cool design.

Cant you use the icing from the pre-cooler as "cooling water" later on?

I must admit. I really like this guy ! And ironic as it is. I am a space cadet ! Proud of it. Lol subscribing

Great leap forward will make space travel more feasible.

I can't get over how awesome it is... ...that Gary Busy is a rocket scientist too!

i like it as a military application, sub orbital launch vehicle with strike capability. very nice

Right again,Mr.Bond!

Great video, thanks Professor. Would it be possible to de-ice the precooler by pumping some exhaust gases through just one section of it at a time? Say, looking from the front at the annulus, heat from the 12 to the 1 o'clock position for a few seconds, then valves switch the heat to the 6pm to 7pm section, then back to the 1pm to 2pm section and so on, round and round?

I should go to sleep but now this shows up in my recommendations....oh well, I can sleep later....

This is the future. I found it very interesting to see that the reentry phase - usually being one of the most complicated - is really easy because of the shape of the vehicle. Refrigerating some areas with water would some mad a few years ago. Definitely, this vehicle will be the kind that will "make space boring".

honestly, even if it doesn't end up working, the sabre engine alone is a really cool development that I hope other air- and spacecraft will end up using!

Fascinating....👍🚀🛩

cobrapub here,ok I have spent 40 years in the astro/aero/jet/ramjet/rocket industries as a draftsmen/designer and engineer,sorry no degree just experience and yes I did a contract on the SR71 and the SpaceShuttle!I even had lunch with the father of the turbo High ratio baypass engine at GE Avendale and several SR pilots at Beal AFB!In 1981, that year I received a revelation as you did about the whole compulation of a TAV [trans atmosphereic vechical]!I wanted to reach what the SR pilots called the "HOLLY GRAIL ZONE" where there is no need for propullation at all,above 250,000 feet!The First person to talk about this was Doctor Eugene Sanger,he created the sub space orbital math used by NASA for the space programs back in 1928!Now down to facts the first thing needed to looked at in any SUB SONIC to HYPROSONIC is SHOCK,Managing the air flow in to the engine!The SR71 uses a unbelievable plumming to slow incoming air so as to not blow out the combustion cams,this is extremely dangerious it leads to a problem called UNSTART!Next there is the problem of the combustion cams design,it has not changed in more than 50 years,hence the slow and low inefficient use of the Hi Ratio Bypass stator assembly!Ok next we look at supersonic to hyprosonic regement,above 50,000 feet combustion cams cannot handle this regime,now you need a modified way to combust fuel!The Aerospike showed promise,yes heat conversion is a factor but as you go higher more thrust is required!For those that have trouble understanding what I am talking about,I give you the first SONIC/HYPROSONIC Craft the BOMARC [IM99],it flew at Mach 4 in the 1950's!

Extremely exciting!!! Makes me wonder how an air-breathing engine's internals would withstand orbital re-entry temperatures. The SR-71 had notorious fuselage expansion issues even at Mach speeds and associated frictional temperatures.

So, is the Skylon just supposed to glide in like the space shuttle then or does it carry enough fuel to fly back?

Yes I do remember Dan Dare, and Roy of the Rovers. But when I saw the SKYLON coming out of the hanger I did think Thunderbirds. I am looking forward to seeing the SKYLON fly. A whole new way to travel into space. Interesting how British heroes do not have superpowers but are just exceptionally talented.