LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The UK Space Agency announced on Thursday that Reaction Engines, the company behind a new class of aerospace engine combining jet and rocket technologies, has secured further funding from global aerospace giants.
The new strategic investors are Boeing HorizonX Ventures, the investment arm of the world's largest aerospace company Boeing, and Rolls-Royce. The British government has previously committed 60-million-pound funding via the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to support the development of the project.
They join BAE Systems, which invested 20.6 million pounds in Reaction Engines in 2015 and is providing further investment in this round, as well as financial investors Baillie Gifford Asset Management and Woodford Investment Management.
Together these investments take the total raised by Reaction Engines in the last three years to over 100 million pounds.
"This is an exciting time as the UK's commercial space industry goes from strength to strength, boosting the economy and creating high-skilled jobs across the country," said Sam Gyimah, UK's minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation.
SABRE, or Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine, is a new class of engine for propelling both high speed aircraft and spacecraft. SABRE engines are unique in delivering the fuel efficiency of a jet engine with the power and high speed ability of a rocket, according to Reaction Engines.
Reaction Engines is currently constructing a new facility in Westcott, Buckinghamshire, UK for SABRE testing. The UK Space Agency is also investing in a National Propulsion Test Facility on the same site. (1 British pound = 1.42 U.S. dollars)