Old reusable vehicle

[hesham]

Hi,

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1984/1984%20-%200609.html?search=REUSABLE

 

[Nik]

Gosh ! Pop-Out canards and jets ! That looks so like one of the Boeing etc designs familiar from APR etc...

Same reasons, of course. Cross-range, subsonic lift.
Same issues-- dead-weight, complexity...

 

[OM]

Gosh ! Pop-Out canards and jets !

...An official NASA Transformer!

 

[Spark]

Gosh ! Pop-Out canards and jets !

...An official NASA Transformer!

UK transformer?
Thinks! Back to the Future.
Following the planned, hoped for introduction of Military Commonwealth Flights mid sixties from Woomera operational flights from the UK to be restricted to near polar orbits until the introduction of a fully recoverable first stage. A De Havilland team were already looking at a similar concept for recoverable larger Blue Streak by 1959. Not enough energy in the system to return to launch site with out use of two BS or RR (light weight lift type) turbo jets for recovery.
Not thought diplomatic to drop used first stages on Bonn or Paris

There was a 1958 note in a piece at the Public records Office to the effect that funds was needed for the production lines (plural) at Stevenage.

Note only one production line was for the dual purpose SLV/Missile the others were dedicated SLV and the standard Booster/SLV.

Also in same piece. in the context of an alternative to Blue Streak, Lockheed were developing Polaris with Aerojet providing solid motor based on original UK work by I.C.I.? Any thoughts?