credit Reaction Engines / caption: the UK science minister Lord Drayson fully endorsed the Skylon concept
Air breathing rocket engine development company Reaction Engines was visited today by the UK government's minister of state for science and innovation Lord Paul Drayson of Kensington. He is responsible for the country's British National Space Centre
Drayson wanted to discuss the status of the Oxfordshire company's air breathing rocket engine work. Watch the video of Hyperbola's interview with Lord Drayson in the extended portion of this blog post. Behind Lord Drayson in the video is a technically detailed mockup of Reaction Engine's Sabre air breathing rocket engine
Hyperbola's interview with Reaction Engines managing director Alan Bond will be posted on Monday 25 May 2009
on May 23, 2009 3:44 AM | Reply
Thank you for the excellent videos. The volume needs some regulating though. The audio from the recent videos has been extremely quiet and tinny.
on May 23, 2009 5:34 PM | Reply
Unfortunately while the Flip camera we use is easy to use, easy to carry and produces a good internet narrowcast quality image its sound level is a bit low. I try to boost this with Windows Movie Maker but it doesn't always work, as you see with the UK minister video. Lord Drayson was also some distance from the camera. I'll make sure the camera is closer in future.
on May 27, 2009 8:17 PM | Reply
WELL! Not a lot of specifics, but it's been A LONG TIME since a positive attitude towards space endeavours has been heard from HMG. Even more so, the willingness to support cutting edge technologies with an eye to a SIGNIFICANT UK presence in space and future industrial developments. If Skylon/SABRE can be built as designed without too much drastic re-design and cost overruns, UK could be out there ahead of anyone else! WONDERFUL news to this superannuated & out-to-grass Rocket Chappie!I'll look forward to the ESA Harwell opening. Thanks VERY much for this Rob.
on May 28, 2009 9:14 AM | Reply
Sadly this is probably more likely a minister who knows that his government is heading for defeat at the election, expected by June 2010, and is saying whatever he likes because he knows he won't have to deliver on any of it. I was rather surprised by Lord Drayson's comments.
on May 28, 2009 11:05 AM | Reply
Hear, hear! Keep an open eye to reality. Skylon will never fly.
on August 6, 2009 6:45 PM | Reply
Sadly, up to the present Government, Britain like Canada has been has been run by bookkeepers with little or no imagination which has left it assigned to obscurity while the rest of the world passes it by. Hopefully Lord Drayson will have the good sense to give Skylon a large enough grant that they`ll have a chance of success. Economies are not built by trust companies and banks but by creativity, ingenuity and the willness to take a risk. The first thing your new government will do is kill any steps that have been taken toward the development of space.
on January 18, 2010 4:19 PM | Reply
Is there any other camcorder out there like the Flip? I've had too many issues with my Flip's but I like their size.