Reach for the Skylon

Civitas, 24 September 2010

As grand designs go, this one is big. The Skylon project, which aims to manufacture a reusable ‘spaceplane’, is the brainchild of the British based company Reaction Engines Ltd and has been gaining support from the Government and the EU for years. However, with the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review coming up, it is crunch-time for the project. Whilst it may be difficult to justify such an expensive investment in this so-called ‘age of austerity’, the Coalition should not follow Thatcher’s example (she abandoned a similar project in the 1980s). The long-term advantages of the Skylon project coming to fruition are manifold and such a paragon of British engineering is long overdue.

The Government’s funding plans for fostering high-tech industry rely on sifting through numerous applicants to find the few nuggets of genius. This policy is contradictory to an extent. For example, David Willets, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, has spoken out against the ‘sausage machine’ idea that: ‘You’re supposed to put money into university-based scientific research, which leads to patents and then spinout companies that secure venture capital backing.’ In the same speech though, he went on to question the need for government to support national pride projects ( which Skylon certainly is): ‘none of this is an economic argument… why does it matter economically that we should be first or that something should be discovered by a Brit?’ With one breath Willets started to move away from arguing that funding should be used as a key economic driver of research (as the government  has been doing for years) but in the next he appeared to favour it again, just in a different form.

The fear of prestige projects is certainly not new and in the past, Skylon type ventures have been shot down by the bureaucrats. This really started with the TSR-2 which was cancelled under Harold Wilson after the Government had invested millions in the project during the heyday of its ‘picking winners’ policy. Most unsettlingly relevant to the Skylon though, was Margaret Thatcher’s grant to the HOTOL project in 1986 that was rapidly cut soon after. HOTOL was to be BAE’s spaceplane, but without the government support, it fell through.

The present Government might view Skylon suspiciously, but there is no need. While it is an expensive investment, the project is on schedule: it is far further forward than just an idea and has already received €1 million from the European Space Agency. Clearly this indicates specialist confidence in the project, which should comfort the Government. More importantly, it is a commercially viable venture and this should tick both government boxes of providing innovation and financial returns.

The many inventions and developments the project has already led to, such as a cooler able to chill 1000^oC air to -140^oC in milliseconds is incredible and has many useful applications in itself. Government funding would ensure that such advances continue, and are discovered in Britain, keeping our high-tech competitive advantage going – this is surely what the almost sacred ‘knowledge economy’ should be about.

Skylon has a well thought through business plan that revolves around flexibility. The spaceplane is intended to launch satellites and this is a much needed service that Britain could provide.  Indeed, the manufacture of these spaceplanes and their maintenance would in itself be a huge industry for the UK. Passenger services are also being looked into, suggesting a great versatility of the Skylon that allays some of the risk involved with investing in the project.

There is a non-economic value to the Skylon project as well, for example in fostering a sense of British pride. It would be erroneous to suggest this is not a prestige project: the money, time, effort, stakes and goals are all high for Skylon. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with prestige projects though, provided they work well and supply a tangible return to the investor (in this case the Government). By being able to take advantage of Skylon’s unique services, the Government should see its potential relationship with the project not as a sleeping investor but an active partnership as between the Ministry of Defence and the private companies it utilises. Hence Skylon is ideal for public funding, offering commercial vitality but also a more intangible sense of pride above that as well.

Britain currently has a gap in its sense of pride, that badly needs filling, and Skylon can do that. While the Olympics may provide a temporary ego boost to the nation, there are many examples of when such things prove to deliver little in the way of legacy. Instead, this appears to be just a chance for the UK to show off without displaying anything in particular. Concorde, on the other hand, still has a place in the heart of many Brits, despite its many problems and rather embarrassing lack of commercial ability. Skylon could easily surpass Concorde’s profitability and would travel around the world as a triumphant symbol of British prowess.

Concorde’s affection (and the potential for Skylon’s too) lies in the fact that they send a very clear signal of British scientific and industrial ability combined. That Concorde is still so adored is perhaps because there has been nothing since to transfer fondness to, which doesn’t say much for the current state of British engineering. Skylon offers a morale boost in a way that public events cannot and it has strong credentials to be a new national institution.

Faith in British industry is badly needed at home and abroad so the Government would be very unwise to pass up this unique opportunity to showcase British talent, especially after so many speeches echoing this sentiment. It’s time for the Coalition to put their money where their mouth is.