British developer of spacecraft and engines for hypersonic aircraft Reaction Engines went bankrupt

Created back in 1989, the British company Reaction Engines for the development of advanced aerospace engines has been declared bankrupt. It was a key player in the UK government’s program to create hypersonic engines for military and civilian use. The company’s leading investors were BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, which refused further funding.

Image source: Reaction Engines

During the period of resolving issues with creditors, Reaction Engines came under external management, which is carried out by the largest international consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Of Reaction Engines’ 208 employees, 173 were laid off.

«It is with great sadness that we report that a pioneering company with a 35-year history of aerospace innovation has unfortunately been unable to attract the funding necessary to continue operations, PwC said in a press release. “We know this is a very uncertain and worrying time for our talented and dedicated employees. We are committed to providing them with all the support they need at this time.”

Reaction Engines was founded 35 years ago by British engineer Alan Bond. Prior to this, he noted his participation in the British Interplanetary Society project “Daedalus”. This project to create an unmanned starship is the first sufficiently detailed engineering approach to the design of interstellar spacecraft.

Later, Reaction Engines began developing a project to create a single-stage orbital spaceplane HOTOL (horizontal take-off/landing). The company designed the ramjet engines created for the project taking into account its own interests – it created its own Skylon spaceplane. Participation in the HOTOL project for British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce enabled Reaction Engines to take part in a number of US and UK military projects and provided it with financial stability for a long time. In particular, the company promised to create the SABER (Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine) engine, which many had pinned their hopes on.

In 2015, British Aerospace acquired a 20% stake in Reaction Engines and provided it with an influx of capital from Rolls-Royce and other investors. Until recently, Reaction Engines was the basis of the British government’s hypersonic weapons program. The company’s bankruptcy jeopardized this direction. British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce put an end to it by refusing to provide Reaction Engines with another approximately $200 million for development.