>
> > Many years ago there was a programme in Britain to develop an engine
that
> > would operate as a jet in the atmosphere and convert to a rocket for
space
> > travel, much like the engine described in Joseph Poyer's novel "North
Cape".
> > Well, it seem that there is now a working model of a similar effort,
again
> > in Britain:
> >
> > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20510112
>
>
> I heard about that on the news this morning, Chris, on BBC Radio 4. The
report
> reminded us that the original project was called HOTOL and that it was
called
> off because the engines could not be cooled effectively (or something like
that).
>
Seems that they've solved that little problem by using the liquid
hydrogen as an inlet precooler. Clever, much like using exhaust steam as a
feedwater heater to improve the efficiency of a steam engine.
Chris
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