Hypersonic 'Space Plane' Promises Four-Hour London to Sydney Flights by 2030

The flight times from London to Sydney could be 80 percent lesser and shorter by the end of 2030, as UK Space Agency is developing a hypersonic engine, which will soon get off the ground. The super engine is named as Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), and it looks to be the jewel in the crown of the UK space agency.

UK Space Agency will be working in close proximity with Australian Space Agency, in an agreement which was dubbed a "world-first Space Bridge”, UK Space Agency stated recently at a press conference.

"When we have brought the SABRE rocket engine to fruition, that may enable us to get to Australia in perhaps as little as four hours," stated Graham Turnock, head of UK Space Agency. This is a significant milestone, as the new ‘Spaceplane’ will have a reaction engine’s proprietary cooling technology, which will have an ambient HTX pre-cooler for heat transfer.

The engine will also include a hybrid version of the electric engine which will support the plane to take off with high-speed. The engine has received more than £100 million ($130 million) in funding over the past four years, by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, and Boeing HorizonX.

The company is finalizing the test facility in Buckinghamshire in the UK, and it will be the location for the ground-based demonstration of SABRE.