In this Chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, “Code” means the “Code de sécurité sur les ascenseurs et monte-charge, CAN/CSA B44-00”, including the updates of June, November and December 2003, the “CSA Standard CAN/CSA B44-00: Safety Code for Elevators” including the updates of September 2002, May and December 2003, and “standard” means the standard “Appareils élévateurs pour personnes handicapées, CAN/CSA B355-00” including the amendments of “B355S1-02 Supplément no 1 à CAN/CSA B355-00 Appareils élévateurs pour personnes handicapées” and the updates of March 2002 and October 2003, “CSA Standard CAN/CSA B355-00: Lifts for Persons with Physical Disabilities”, including the amendments of “B355S1-02 Supplement No. ![]() This launch was the first and only time a British satellite has been launched by a British rocket.4.01. One final launch was permitted because the rocket was already on its way to the launch site. But just as their hard work was paying off, the programme was cancelled. British engineers had to rely on their ingenuity and as much existing technology as possible to build Black Arrow. Most of Britain’s efforts in space had been focused on Europa, but a small budget of £10 million was allocated to developing an independent British rocket called Black Arrow. We have the last Blue Streak ever made on display in our Rocket Tower. Unfortunately, the project ran into difficulties and eventually Britain pulled out. This collaboration, called Europa, aimed to challenge the American and Soviet monopoly on space. Blue Streak would be the first stage, with France and Germany developing the upper stages. The cost of re-developing Blue Streak was too much for Britain to bear alone, so it turned to its neighbours to create a joint European rocket. While they had a seemingly limitless budget, engineers who stayed in Britain had to do things on a shoestring in comparison. Hodge, along with many other Brits, reached senior positions at NASA. Hodge was instrumental in developing the now familiar set up of mission control – rows of desks, facing an orbital map, with a viewing gallery at the back. “So when people say to me, ‘How did you get to the space program?’ I say, ‘I was fired.’” – John Hodge ![]() That’s how John Hodge from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex became a flight director at NASA. The newly formed NASA took this opportunity to snatch up some of the top engineers from Avro Canada, many of whom were British. However, soon after the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, Avro Canada made thousands of its workforce redundant. In Canada, the branch of British aviation manufacturer Hawker Siddeley, known as Avro Canada, took on many British workers. Opportunities dwindled for many skilled British engineers, causing them to look for work abroad. Investing in space technology did not seem justifiable while people still lived on rations. As America and the Soviet Union became the two great superpowers of the age, Britain struggled to recover from the war. With some development, Megaroc could have been ready by the mid-1950s, but the proposal was rejected. It was designed to take humans into space, a feat that wasn’t achieved until Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight 15 years later. Members Harry Ross and Ralph Smith produced the first serious designs for a lunar spacesuit (pictured below – credit: British Interplanetary Society).įollowing World War II, the British Interplanetary Society submitted a proposal to the Government to develop a passenger carrying rocket based on the German V2, called Megaroc. They set about solving the problem of how to put humans on the Moon. The society was made up of space enthusiasts, many with extensive engineering knowledge. In 1933 a group called the British Interplanetary Society formed, with the goal of promoting human spaceflight. Before the Space Race even began, Britain had the potential to shoot for the Moon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |