Skylon Defunct, Radian PFV01 Test Flights Begin

Sooner or later, I figure someone will develop a spaceplane that takes off from places like Tampa International Airport, carries passengers and cargo to low Earth orbit, and flies back: either to the airport it came from, or the next stop in its flight schedule.

It might be a next-generation version of Dawn Aerospace's Aurora, or an advanced Radian Aerospace model. But it won't be Reaction Engines Limited's Skylon. Developing their two-mode SABRE rocket engine ended up costing too much and taking too long.

I'll take a quick look at Skylon. After that, I'll take a longer look at Seattle-based Radian Aerospace's PFV01 spaceplane.

PFV01, a prototype of Radian's Aurora spaceplane, is the one that's been making test flights near Abu Dhabi.

• Closing the Book on Skylon
• Radian Aerospace PFV01: Another Step
  • Test Flights
  • Living With and Working Around Rules
  • Rocket Sled —
• — To the Stars

More at A Catholic Citizen in America.

(Reaction Engines Ltd. declared bankruptcy. Other companies are flight testing their spaceplanes. A look at the Radian Aerospace PFV01, and my take on rules.)