This Week in Space 228

In the 1980s, as the US space shuttle was just starting operations, the UK embarked on an ambitious project called HOTOL—short for Horizontal Take Off and Landing, a radical, air-breathing spaceplane design. Poilitical and funding shifts in the UK ultimately derailed the project, despite the promising technologies it pioneered. The idea was later restarted as Skylon, with key individuals and refined technologies at its core. This project, too, struggled, ultimately shuttering in 2024. Despite this, the promise of rapid, reusable spaceplanes that can launch and land at airports is still coveted by many cointries, and efforts continue. Join Rob Coppinger, author of the definitive book on the topic and editor of the UK's "Spaceflight" magazine, as he tells this fasincating story.

Headlines:

• New Crater Discovered on the Moon
• Boeing Starliner Gains New Life with NASA Support
• Starship Flight 14 Gears Up for Launch

Main Topic: British Spaceplanes – HOTOL and Skylon

• Rob Coppinger Shares Inspiration and Career Path
• Origins and Vision Behind HOTOL
• HOTOL vs. the Space Shuttle: Concepts and Challenges
• Funding Issues and UK Government Decisions
• Evolution from HOTOL to Skylon and Reaction Engines
• Technological Innovations: SABRE Engine and Reusability
• International Context: Other Spaceplane Projects
• Current Status and Future Prospects for UK Spaceplanes
• Lessons in Vision, Imagination, and Persisting with Big Ideas

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• Transcripts: This Week in Space 228 Transcript

Links

• A NASA spacecraft just found a giant new crater on the moon. Here's why everyone's talking about the 'once-in-a-century' discovery
• After being sidelined, Boeing’s Starliner to get starring role in NASA’s spaceflight plans
• SpaceX pushes next Starship launch back to Sept. 28, a 6-day delay for megarocket's 1st orbital flight
• Rob Coppinger
• HOTOL & Skylon: The Story of Britain's Spaceplanes
• HOTOL
• HOTOL, the British air-breathing Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) spaceplane - r/WeirdWings
• Meet HOTOL: The British-designed space plane that never flew a mission