British Skylon Engine Passes Its Tests 172
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports that the SABRE hybrid (part air-breathing jet, part rocket) that is intended to power the Skylon single-stage-to-orbit space plane has passed its final technical demonstration test, and is now looking for money (only £250m!) to prepare for manufacturing. If this goes ahead, travel into orbit from local airports (ideally, those close to the equator) will be possible. And quite cheaply. But might it have the same legal difficulties flying from U.S. airports as the Concorde did?"
The odd thing about the Skylon (Score:5, Funny)
Is the strobing red light on the front. Seriously, what the frak?
Re:Only £250m! (Score:5, Funny)
I sense a Kickstarter in the offing...
What's the incentive for my $25? A free ride on cuise missile?
YEEEEE HAAAAAA!!!
Re:The odd thing about the Skylon (Score:4, Funny)
Is the strobing red light on the front. Seriously, what the frak?
It is actually a white light, but the doppler shift makes it appear red.
Re:You mean Russia? (Score:2, Funny)
His point was that Europeans know about Russia, and that makes them acquinted with a "fucking big country".
Actually, it's mostly Americans who have no clue how big their country is, rich in natural resources, not densily populated and unscathed by wars, so they attribute their economical superiority merely to them being "American". Europeans know that only the EU as a whole compares to the USA.
As for your Godwin, what you call "love of government power" should be called "imperialism". Currently the only country in the world which can be called imperialistic is America, so congratulations on defeating that evil!
Re:You mean Russia? (Score:5, Funny)
Many Europeans are terrible at geography.
Oh, the fucking irony.