Anywhere in the World in 4 Hours: SABRE Takes Hypersonic Air Travel to the Extreme

The world is about to become a whole lot smaller.

by RDM Staff
December 11, 2015

The Concorde jet may have been retired, but it is far from mankind's last crack at hypersonic passenger jets.

Meet SABRE, which stands for Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine. The air-breathing engine will enable aircraft to operate easily at speeds of up to five times the speed of sound and even fly into Earth orbit. Though the SABRE engine was shelved by the British government in the late 1980s when it cut off funding, it is now quickly becoming a reality. Reaction Engines, the UK-based engineering firm which developed the engine, is getting significant investment dollars. British firm BAE Systems, which is set to own 20% of the company, says a new generation of hypersonic jets utilizing the engine could be available as a space vehicle in as little as 10 years. The engine also has renewed financial backing from the British government and from the European Space Agency (ESA).

At least one aircraft is set for a 2020 test flight. It can deliver up to 33,00…