Small Manitoba airport could play role in testing hypersonic aircraft for space

A picture of the Sexbomb aircraft designed by Space Engine Systems that could be tested in Lynn Lake in December. (Source: Pradeep Dass/ Space Engine Systems. Nov. 9, 2021)

WINNIPEG — A small airport in a northern Manitoba town could play a significant role in Canadian aviation history before the end of the year.

Edmonton-based company Space Engine Systems (SES) is hoping to use Lynn Lake’s airport as a testing field for its new hypersonic aircraft.

Pradeep Dass is the president and CTO of SES, and said they would be testing their ramjet technology inside the hypersonic aircraft with the hopes of reaching Mach 5.

"Mach 5 meaning five times the speed of sound," said Dass.

The aircraft being tested is known as ‘Sexbomb’ and Dass said there is a very simple reason for the name.

"The kinetic energy to generate, to hit somewhere, it would obliterate everything there, so it's quite sexy, so we call it Sexbomb."

For testing to go ahead, Dass said they need approval from Transport Canada. SES has applied for permission to test in the area and the hope is approval will come soon so the company can test in December.

If everything goes according to plan, Dass said to test the Sexbomb properly, it would be dropped from 110,000 feet so that it could reach speeds of Mach 1.8.

"Then the ramjet will fire on and then it will take a turn and then come back and land and prove that we managed to do it at Mach 5."

Fred Petrie is a managing partner at Lynn Lake airport and is also a consultant for SES. He has spent the majority of his career consulting for airports and finding ways to make smaller locations pay for themselves.

He took over the Lynn Lake airport in 2013 and realized right away that it had the potential to be a testing centre.

"Because of the 1,000 kilometres of empty airspace from Lynn Lake all the way north to the Arctic Ocean," said Petrie.

Dass said he liked the idea of testing at Lynn Lake because there is so much space and he knows NASA tested balloons in the area in 2002.

Petrie is hoping the approval comes through from Transport Canada as the tests could be historic for the country.

"It's pretty obvious there are all kinds of public interest, from science, innovation, Canadian competitiveness … it would be a great opportunity to put Canada back on the space map. We've got the history. Let's go for it."

If testing isn't able to happen at Lynn Lake, Dass said he has already been in talks with testing centres in the United States, including in Florida.

"I think this is a huge Canadian pride if this happens in Canada," said Dass. "It's a major breakthrough in Canadian technology."

HOW COULD THE SEXBOMB IMPACT THE FUTURE?

If testing is successful for the aircraft, Dass said there could be several practical uses, such as starting a hypersonic branch of aircraft for the military and it could also allow militaries to train against hypersonic technology.

Petrie noted it could also be used for quick transport of items, such as organs needed for surgeries.

"(It) could do a transfer of a human lung, for example, from Toronto to Edmonton in 30 minutes."

Dass said following a successful test of the Sexbomb, it could clear the way for testing for his next two aircraft, known as Hello-1 and Hello-2.

Hello-1 could be used for transports, such as the organ transfer example and also could do horizontal take-off for lower earth orbit missions.

Hello-2 would have a larger engine that could propel the aircraft farther into space.

Testing is set to happen for Hello-1 in 2023 and Hello-2 could see liftoff in 2025.

Dass is also selling tickets for space flights and is hoping to have a lower-cost aircraft compared to Elon Musk's SpaceX.