Vertical Empire, A

History Of The British Rocketry Programme

By: Charles N Hill

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Paperback | 17 October 2011 | Edition Number 2

At a Glance

Paperback
388 Pages

Edition Type
Revised

Dimensions(cm)
24.6 x 17.0 x 2.1

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A Vertical Empire provides a description of the British rocketry and space programme from the 1950s to 1970s, detailing the Medium Range Ballistic Missile Blue Streak and its conversion to a satellite launcher as part of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). This extensively revised second edition includes material only made available in the past ten years and the text is supplemented by numerous photographs, sketches and statistics. The all-British satellite Black Arrow is described, as well as the research rocket Black Knight, the Blue Steel missile and the rocket powered interceptor aircraft.

Industry Reviews

This book is to be highly recommended for its objectivity and realistic appraisal of an inspiring example of a can-do spirit. It is required reading for anyone seeking the truth about how Britain let slip one of its greatest engineering opportunities and was profoundly let down by a political elite that abandoned UK skill and world-class performance. -- Spaceflight "Spaceflight"

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Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Places	p. 11
Political and Administrative Matters	p. 15
Politics	p. 16
Rocket Motors	p. 27
Rocket Motors in the UK	p. 33
HTP	p. 35
Hydrogen	p. 41
Solid Fuel Motors	p. 53
Rocket Interceptors	p. 65
Designs in Detail	p. 73
Facts and Figures	p. 78
Blue Steel	p. 83
Blue Streak - The Origins	p. 93
The Warhead	p. 98
A Solid Fuel Design?	p. 104
The Missile Design	p. 111
Blue Streak - The 'Underground Launcher'	p. 125
Blue Streak - The Cancellation	p. 141
BND(SG)	p. 148
Origins of Skybolt	p. 153
Unpopularity of Blue Streak	p. 175
BSSLV	p. 179
A Liquid Hydrogen Stage	p. 194
Blue Streak with a Centaur Upper Stage	p. 199
The European Launcher Development Organisation - ELDO	p. 203
The Political Failure of ELDO	p. 216
Europa	p. 225
The Launches	p. 232
Improving Europa	p. 237
Europa III	p. 244
Black Knight	p. 249
Black Knight and the Re-entry Experiments	p. 263
Black Knight Launches	p. 265
Project Dazzle	p. 278
Summary of Black Knight Launches	p. 282
Crusade and the 54-inch Black Knight	p. 282
How Successful was Black Knight?	p. 285
Was Black Knight Good Value for Money?	p. 286
Black Arrow	p. 289
The Flights	p. 307
The Cancellation	p. 311
Black Arrow Improvements	p. 318
The 'Might Have Beens'	p. 325
A Black Knight IRBM	p. 328
Could Britain Have Launched an Astronaut into Orbit?	p. 330
Alternative Histories	p. 331
Conclusions	p. 335
Could the UK Once Again Become Involved in a Launcher Programme?	p. 344
Original Documents	p. 347
History of the Saunders Roe SR53 and SR177	p. 347
K11 Underground Launcher	p. 351
Use of Spadeadam for Space Firings	p. 356
Space and the Future of The European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO)	p. 358
A Black Knight Launcher?	p. 363
Timeline	p. 369
Further Reading	p. 373
Archives	p. 375
Index	p. 377
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Vertical Empire, A

History Of The British Rocketry Programme

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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Hardcover

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