The European Space Agency (ESA) and UK-based Frazer-Nash have launched Invictus, a research program aimed at developing high-sonic flight technology suitable for future reusable vehicles that can be level-launched.
The vehicle demonstrates the key technologies of sustainable high-sonic flights in the atmosphere, making it upgradeable, and allows for material, software and propulsion systems to be exchanged between flight test campaigns.
Invictus is a fully reusable experimental aerospace vehicle funded through ESA’s General Support Technology Program (GSTP) and Technology Development Components (TDE) and can fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).
Opportunities and challenges for testing sensitivity techniques
Invictus is based on previous technological developments managed by the ESA, and provides industry, institutions and academia with the opportunity to test future high-sonic flight technologies in related environments.
One of the main challenges in operating a high-sonic vehicle is that the exterior surfaces of the aircraft and the air entering the engine are at high speeds and extremely high temperatures due to impact heating and surface friction.
These conditions require specialized technology and a unique propulsion system to power the vehicle through high-speed ranges.
David Perigo, ESA’s chemical propulsion engineer and technical lead of the program, explained:
“It offers an invaluable opportunity to test a complete engine flow path, from ingestion to afterburners on integral aircraft, at full scale.”
Precooler systems pave the way for widespread access to space
Built on technology developed through ESA’s Saber Study, the Precooler system was designed by UK-based Reaction Engines Ltd. and funded early stages through ESA’s GSTP.
This innovative technology can cool overheated air for a second, and has already been successfully demonstrated through integration with traditional jet engines.
In addition to providing a cooling system, the engine’s lightweight architecture, like smart, opens the way to a true spaceplane that can be level off the runway, bringing you a step closer to widespread access to space.
“Invictus is an exciting opportunity to deliver advanced technology to the space and provide dual use capabilities,” said Sarah Wilkes, managing director of Frazer-Nash.
“With strong industry support and deep engineering and aerospace expertise, there is all the right factors to make this ambitious vision come true.”
The future between extremes
For the next 12 months, the Invictus Consortium, led by Frazer-Nash and including Spirit Aerosystems and Cranfield University, will offer preliminary designs for a complete high-sonic flight system.
“We are pleased to announce that to our customers, we are pleased to announce that to our customers, we are pleased to announce that we are committed to providing a wide range of services,” said Tommaso Ghidini, head of ESA’s mechanical division. “By mastering reusable and air-breathing propulsion, it lays the foundation for aircraft that take off like planes and reach orbits, revolutionizing both terrestrial and orbital transport.
Hi-sonic flights are not just the next frontier in aerospace. This is a gateway to a new paradigm of mobility, defense, and space access.
With Invictus, Europe is seizing the opportunity to lead the technology to redefine how it moves across planets and reaches beyond them.
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