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Reaction Engines
Reaction Engines Limited (REL) was a British aerospace manufacturer founded in 1989 and based in Oxfordshire, England. The company also operated in the USA, where it used the name Reaction Engines Inc. (REI).
REL entered administration on 31 October 2024. Both REL and REI ceased operations and laid off the bulk of their staff.
In 1989, Reaction Engines was founded by Alan Bond (lead engineer on the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus), Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott (the two principal Rolls-Royce engineers from the RB545 engine project). The company conducted research into space propulsion systems, centred on the development of the Skylon re-usable SSTO spaceplane. The three founders had worked together on the HOTOL project, funding for which had been withdrawn the previous year, in 1988.[citation needed]
In 2015, BAE Systems agreed to buy a 20% stake in the company for £20.6m as part of an agreement to help develop Reaction Engines' Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), a hypersonic engine designed to propel the Skylon orbiter.
In April 2018, Boeing announced an investment in Reaction Engines, through Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with a $37.3 million Series B funding alongside Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce and REL announced a strategic partnership in August 2020, with a £20m investment.
In January 2023, the company announced that it had raised a further £40m from backers including the United Arab Emirates Strategic Development Fund.
At the end of October 2024, after unsuccessful attempts to raise more money from investors, the company ceased operations, laying off the majority of staff and entering administration.
Skylon was a design for a single-stage-to-orbit combined-cycle-powered orbital spaceplane.
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Reaction Engines
Reaction Engines Limited (REL) was a British aerospace manufacturer founded in 1989 and based in Oxfordshire, England. The company also operated in the USA, where it used the name Reaction Engines Inc. (REI).
REL entered administration on 31 October 2024. Both REL and REI ceased operations and laid off the bulk of their staff.
In 1989, Reaction Engines was founded by Alan Bond (lead engineer on the British Interplanetary Society's Project Daedalus), Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott (the two principal Rolls-Royce engineers from the RB545 engine project). The company conducted research into space propulsion systems, centred on the development of the Skylon re-usable SSTO spaceplane. The three founders had worked together on the HOTOL project, funding for which had been withdrawn the previous year, in 1988.[citation needed]
In 2015, BAE Systems agreed to buy a 20% stake in the company for £20.6m as part of an agreement to help develop Reaction Engines' Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), a hypersonic engine designed to propel the Skylon orbiter.
In April 2018, Boeing announced an investment in Reaction Engines, through Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with a $37.3 million Series B funding alongside Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce and REL announced a strategic partnership in August 2020, with a £20m investment.
In January 2023, the company announced that it had raised a further £40m from backers including the United Arab Emirates Strategic Development Fund.
At the end of October 2024, after unsuccessful attempts to raise more money from investors, the company ceased operations, laying off the majority of staff and entering administration.
Skylon was a design for a single-stage-to-orbit combined-cycle-powered orbital spaceplane.