Telegram from the Universe

[tamaranth]

I started reading Francis Spufford's Backroom Boys -- the chapter about the UK postwar missile programme -- the other night, but put it aside because my cold was settling in and I couldn't concentrate.

However, the Universe thinks I should persevere, and to that end has arranged for British Archaeology to run a feature on the Cold War rocket silos at Spadeadam in Cumbria -- home of the Blue Streak missile.

Comments

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

Quite a nifty website on that here (http://www.spaceuk.org/index.htm), too.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Oooh! I'd be very interested to see that - not only because of my interest in UK space history, but because I used to regularly visit Spadeadam in its current guise (http://www.raf.mod.uk/spadeadam/about.html) as the MOD's electronic warfare training (http://www.raf.mod.uk/spadeadam/gallery.html) range (http://www.bunkertours.co.uk/spadeadam.htm). The old launch pads are still there (they're used as plinths for radars, these days) and there is a prototype Blue Streak on a low-loader in the car park.

Spadeadam is very scenic, rather remote and at this time of year absolutely chuffing freezing!

MC

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

W H Smiths, if you can face buying anything there: or Picocon, if we both make it and I remember the mag?

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

Backroom Boys is about far more than just the missile programme - it covers various interesting bits and pieces of British science and technology too -- DNA and the Human Genome Project, mobile phones, computer games (specifically Elite), and ends up talking about Beagle...

The best book about British rocketry is A Vertical Empire (http://www.spaceuk.org/book.htm) which shows how tantalisingly close the UK was to having a successful space programme. Much of interest about Spadeadam in there.