UK based rocket engine sector suffered a significant setback at the end of October 2024 when REL and Reaction Engines Inc. (REL’s US subsidiary) closed their doors for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REL had been developing air breathing rocket motors including the SABRE , for space and other aeronautic applications. Investors included BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Boeing. Hypersonic engines are useful for the initial boosting of payloads, and could provide an efficient 1st stage solution, but they have significant challenges around overheating and the temperature differentials at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. The SABRE engine also had applications for hypersonic earth based travel, and the ancillary cooling components had other applications particularly in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
More recently they pivoted to motorsport and zero carbon applications for their specialist products, with low drag radiators and heat exchangers major products in their Applied Technologies program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s rather sad that REL simply ran out of money, rather than their fate being decided by a failure in the way that Virgin Orbit did (although they also ran out of money) or in an enormous explosion. It just goes to reinforce the old adage, Space is Hard. And insanely expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time of publishing, accessing the homepage of REL’s website took you to a message from the joint administrators at PwC. Subpages on the site were however still available to view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n