Advantages
Unlike traditional rocket engines, and like other types of air breathing jet engine, a hybrid jet engine can utilise air to create combustion saving on propellant weight and therefore increasing payload fraction.
Ramjets and Scramjets must spend a significant amount of time within the lower atmosphere to build speed to reach orbital velocity creating issues with extremely high drag leading to intense heating and the subsequent weight and complexity of required thermal protection. A hybrid jet like SABRE needs only reach low hypersonic speeds inside the lower atmosphere before engaging its closed cycle mode, whilst climbing, to build speed.
Unlike ramjet or scramjet engines the design is able to provide high thrust from zero speed up to Mach 5.5, with excellent thrust over the entire flight, from the ground to very high altitude, with high efficiency throughout.
In addition this static thrust capability means the engine can be easily tested on the ground, which drastically cuts testing costs.
Read more about this topic: SABRE (rocket Engine)
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