UK company Reaction Engines has successfully conducted the first phase of tests of its precooler heat exchanger for the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (Sabre) hydrogen-fuelled engine. Reaction said in the ground-based tests, undertaken at its Colorado TF2 facility, the precooler test article, known as HTX, worked successfully with a 420C intake airflow – replicating Mach 3 temperatures – in 0.05 of a second. The technology has already passed tests in the UK where its performance was validated at ambient air temperatures. The second stage of the test, which will be carried out on an aircraft carrier and is expected to take place later this year, involves testing the HTX against other rocket engines such as the Merlin 1D
UK company Reaction Engines has successfully conducted the first phase of tests of its precooler heat exchanger for the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (Sabre) hydrogen-fuelled engine. Reaction said in the ground-based tests, undertaken at its Colorado TF2 facility, the precooler test article, known as HTX, worked successfully with a 420C intake airflow – replicating Mach 3 temperatures – in 0.05 of a second. The second stage of the test, which will be carried out on an aircraft carrier and is expected to take place later this year, involves testing the HTX against other rocket engines such as the Merlin 1D