Richard Varvill reflects on the emotional collapse of Reaction Engines, a UK aerospace firm that developed cutting-edge heat exchanger tech for hypersonic flight.
Originating from the 1980s Hotol project, the company came close to success but failed in late 2024 due to a lack of funding, despite promising tech and support from major investors like Rolls-Royce.
Staff were devastated, with many in tears during the final announcement. Former team members take pride in the innovation and culture, though regret the mission remains unfinished.
The company’s closure highlights the harsh reality of funding gaps in long-term aerospace ventures
“we failed because we ran out of money.”
Allah@lemm.ee 1 week ago
i really wanted a spaceplane, guess we can’t have nice things
Lembot_0003@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
Yes, but you can have 14.768 types of smartphones and colourful stickers. Isn’t it better?
Allah@lemm.ee 1 week ago
it also said in the article
it makes sense why people hype up tech, if they all remain down to earth then they won’t get any where, i hope more people on internet understood this
Allah@lemm.ee 1 week ago
but they also stated that
which means maybe there is chance someone might pick it up in future
rah@hilariouschaos.com 1 week ago
Here’s an idea: why not take care of people’s basic needs like food and shelter, and then build a spaceplane?
AA5B@lemmy.world 1 week ago
That’s not a trade off.
Taking care of people basic needs is not a technology problem or even a resources problem. It’s political, economic, corruption, logistics, whatever variation decides who gets what and how it gets there. We already have the resources and technology to do this
Advanced research projects have no effect on whether the politico-economic system takes care of people’s basic needs. It does, however, help advance society, enhance our capabilities, create new opportunities to improve our lives