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I must preface this first look review by saying that, while I'm interested in space technology, its not my speciality, so I'm approaching this book from this angle.
Bill Rose has put together a well written and nicely illustrated book on various military space projects. Its 192 pages long and there were quite a few things new to me, and a lot of additional illustrations of things I've heard of or seen. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of British projects included.
Here's a quick guide to the chapters in the book:
Introduction p.1
1) German Wartime Ambitions p.14
Rocket Planes
Towards a Strategic Weapon
An Orbital Space Plane
2) British Space Ambitions p.41
Megaroc
Ross-Smith Glider
Saunders-Roe High-Altitude Rocketplane
Nonweiler's Waveriders
Armstrong Whitworth Pyramid
Advanced Blue Steel Projects
BAC Delta-winged Spaceplane
RAE Space Fighter
MUSTARD
Hawker Siddeley TSTO concept
HOTOL
Interim HOTOL
Skylon
Lapcat
3) US Projects p.63
WAC Corporal
Hermes
Redstone
Jupiter
Rocketplanes (incl. Miles M-52)
Douglas Rocketplanes
Bell X-2
X-15 (NA, Republic, Lockheed CL-839-28)
Advanced studies at Bell
Boeing X-20 Dyna-soar
Military Uses for NASA Hardware
MOL Manned Orbital Laboratory (includes Big Gemini)
Single Stage To Orbit
Delta Clipper
ASAT Weapons
Space Cruiser
The Military Shuttle
Lifting Bodies (includes X-24C, Lockheed MRS/CL-639/CL-1047/CL-651, Isinglass, mentions Rheinberry)
4) Aurora- Myth or Reality? P.128
Includes CL-839, X-24C-L301, Aurora concepts, Suntan, HGV, ALSV, Rockwell TAV, NASP/X-30, Boeing TSTO, Blackstar, X-33, Falcon, Blackswift...
5) Soviet Military Space Programmes
Buran and Burya
Early Spaceplanes
Spiral
Uragan
LKS
MAKS
Buran
Russia's Aurora (NASP type spaceplanes eg Tu-2000, MiG-2000, NPO Energia concept)
Korolev's Heavy Space Station
Diamond in the Sky (Almaz)
TKS
Soyuz as a Military Spacecraft
Russian ASAT Weapon Development
The IS System
Air Launched ASAT Systems
6) Nuclear Propulsion
American Efforts (NERVA)
Soviet Nuclear Rockets
Riding the Pulse (Orion)
7) Destination Moon
Project E-4
Lunex
Project Horizon
Russians on the Moon
As with all Secret Projects books, you can always think of other projects that aren't included, but that by no means detracts from the excellent job Bill Rose has done making a coherent book from this subject.
If you have any specific questions, I will post a more detailed review when I've finished reading it.
In conclusion, this is a worthy addition to the Secret Projects series. Well done Mr Rose!
Bill Rose has put together a well written and nicely illustrated book on various military space projects. Its 192 pages long and there were quite a few things new to me, and a lot of additional illustrations of things I've heard of or seen. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of British projects included.
Here's a quick guide to the chapters in the book:
Introduction p.1
1) German Wartime Ambitions p.14
Rocket Planes
Towards a Strategic Weapon
An Orbital Space Plane
2) British Space Ambitions p.41
Megaroc
Ross-Smith Glider
Saunders-Roe High-Altitude Rocketplane
Nonweiler's Waveriders
Armstrong Whitworth Pyramid
Advanced Blue Steel Projects
BAC Delta-winged Spaceplane
RAE Space Fighter
MUSTARD
Hawker Siddeley TSTO concept
HOTOL
Interim HOTOL
Skylon
Lapcat
3) US Projects p.63
WAC Corporal
Hermes
Redstone
Jupiter
Rocketplanes (incl. Miles M-52)
Douglas Rocketplanes
Bell X-2
X-15 (NA, Republic, Lockheed CL-839-28)
Advanced studies at Bell
Boeing X-20 Dyna-soar
Military Uses for NASA Hardware
MOL Manned Orbital Laboratory (includes Big Gemini)
Single Stage To Orbit
Delta Clipper
ASAT Weapons
Space Cruiser
The Military Shuttle
Lifting Bodies (includes X-24C, Lockheed MRS/CL-639/CL-1047/CL-651, Isinglass, mentions Rheinberry)
4) Aurora- Myth or Reality? P.128
Includes CL-839, X-24C-L301, Aurora concepts, Suntan, HGV, ALSV, Rockwell TAV, NASP/X-30, Boeing TSTO, Blackstar, X-33, Falcon, Blackswift...
5) Soviet Military Space Programmes
Buran and Burya
Early Spaceplanes
Spiral
Uragan
LKS
MAKS
Buran
Russia's Aurora (NASP type spaceplanes eg Tu-2000, MiG-2000, NPO Energia concept)
Korolev's Heavy Space Station
Diamond in the Sky (Almaz)
TKS
Soyuz as a Military Spacecraft
Russian ASAT Weapon Development
The IS System
Air Launched ASAT Systems
6) Nuclear Propulsion
American Efforts (NERVA)
Soviet Nuclear Rockets
Riding the Pulse (Orion)
7) Destination Moon
Project E-4
Lunex
Project Horizon
Russians on the Moon
As with all Secret Projects books, you can always think of other projects that aren't included, but that by no means detracts from the excellent job Bill Rose has done making a coherent book from this subject.
If you have any specific questions, I will post a more detailed review when I've finished reading it.
In conclusion, this is a worthy addition to the Secret Projects series. Well done Mr Rose!