E-Book Overview
"A Vertical Empire" describes the work in rocketry and space research carried out in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. At one time, the programme was as sophisticated as those in the US and Russia. The projects were cancelled one by one as Britain's attempts to keep up militarily with the two superpowers weakened, as a consequence of Treasury pressure and the belief that there was no economic future in space technology. Much of the material in this book has never been available before, due partly to the 30-Year Rule concerning government documents, and partly to the sensitive military nature of the work. The projects covered include rocket-propelled aircraft, large military missiles such as the medium range ballistic missile "Blue Streak", the test rocket "Black Knight" and the re-entry experiments it carried, and the satellite launcher "Black Arrow". In addition, proposed projects that could have been developed from these vehicles are covered in depth. There is also considerable political analysis of why these projects were eventually discontinued. __________<span class="post-br">В книге описывается ракетная и космическая программа Великобритании 1950-1960-х годов. Одно время эта программа была такой же продвинутой, как и программы США и СССР, но в итоге все космические проекты были закрыты один за другим ввиду того, что правительство считало их экономически нерентабельными. Многие из документов, использовавшихся при написании этой книги, были ранее засекречены.
E-Book Content
The History of the UK Rocket and Space Programme, 1950-1971 A VERTICAL EMPIRE A VERTICAL EMPIRE T h e History of the UK Rocket and Space Programme, 1950-1971 C. N. Hill Charterhouse School, UK Imperial College Press Published by Imperial College Press 57 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9HE Distributed by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. P O Box 128, Farrer Road, Singapore 912805 USA office: Suite IB, 1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Front cover photograph: The British Blue Streak rocket being launched at Woomera, Australia. Eleven successful launches of Blue Streak were made between 1964 and 1971. Blue Streak was originally designed as a Medium Range Missile, but later was used as the first stage of the Europa satellite launcher. © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission. A VERTICAL EMPIRE Copyright © 2001 by Imperial College Press All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 1-86094-267-9 ISBN 1-86094-268-7 (pbk) Printed in Singapore by Fulsland Offset Printing Contents Acknowledgements 3 List of Figures 5 1. 9 Introduction Glossary 16 2. Rocket Motors 25 3. Rocket Interceptors 43 Designs in detail 49 4. The Blue Steel Stand Off Missile 59 5. 6. Blue Streak: the origins Blue Streak: the cancellation Alternatives The debate begins The debate ends B.S.S.L.V Black Prince A Liquid Hydrogen stage Combination with Black Arrow 69 93 94 97 107 117 124 128 130 8. ELDO