Skylon is a series of designs for a
single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the
British company
Reaction Engines Limited (REL), using
SABRE, a combined-cycle,
air-breathing rocket propulsion system. The vehicle design is for a
hydrogen-fuelled aircraft that would take off from a purpose-built
runway, and accelerate to
Mach 5.4 at 26 kilometres (85,000 ft) altitude (compared to typical airliners' 9–13 kilometres or 30,000–40,000 feet) using the
atmosphere's oxygen before switching the engines to use the internal
liquid oxygen (LOX) supply to take it into orbit. It could carry 17 tonnes (37,000 lb) of cargo to an equatorial
low Earth orbit (LEO); up to 11 tonnes (24,000 lb) to the
International Space Station, almost 45% more than the capacity of the
European Space Agency's
Automated Transfer Vehicle; or 7.3 tonnes; 7,300 kilograms (16,000 lb) to
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), over 24% more than
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle in reusable mode (As of 2018
[update].) The relatively light vehicle would then
re-enter the atmosphere and land on a runway, being protected from the conditions of re-entry by a
ceramic composite skin. When on the ground, it would undergo inspection and necessary maintenance, with a turnaround time of approximately two days, and be able to complete at least 200 orbital flights per vehicle.
Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz (born August 17, 1933) is a retired
NASA Flight Director and manager. Kranz served as a Flight Director, the successor to NASA founding Flight Director
Chris Kraft, during the
Gemini and
Apollo programs, and is best known for his role in directing the successful Mission Control team efforts to save the crew of
Apollo 13, which later became the subject story of a major motion picture of the same name. He is also noted for his trademark close-cut
flattop hairstyle, and the wearing of dapper white "mission" vests (
waistcoats), of different styles and materials made by Mrs. Kranz, during missions for which he acted as Flight Director. A personal friend to the American astronauts of his time, Kranz remains a prominent and colorful figure in the history of U.S. manned space exploration, literally, the embodiment of 'NASA tough-and-competent' of the Kranz Dictum. Kranz has been the subject of movies, documentary films, and books and periodical articles. Kranz is the recipient of a
Presidential Medal of Freedom.