But sabre has survived close scrutiny by the european space agency , which could find no show-stopping problems , and has performed well in extensive ground tests .
At low altitudes and speeds ( up to about five times the speed of sound ) , sabre would operate as a powerful , lightweight form of jet engine .
在低海拔和低速度(直到大约五倍音速),“军刀”靠一架强大的轻型喷气式引擎推动。
A slow learner , it would seem , cameron has now led the way for the nato intervention in libya , along with nicolas sarkozy , who had also flown to georgia in 2008 to rattle his own flimsy sabre .
Using the ' sabre ' engine , skylon would require much less propellant than any conventional rocket , and would reduce launch costs by about 23 times , making access to space far cheaper and , possibly , ushering in a new era of exploration as the technology is adopted .