British Secret Projects: Britain's Space Shuttle: 5 Hardcover – 30 Sept. 2016

This is a book that will end up annoying a lot of people (or more likely their descendants - particularly those of the politicians and civil servants involved whose lack of vision scuppered the program - not for the first time) not to mention the British public.In the 1950's and 1960's, whilst America and the USSR were firing disposable rockets into space (obviously very successfully) - private companies in the United Kingdom were producing designs for reusable spacecraft at least a decade ahead of the competition. This is probably the definitive guide to the hopes, dreams and technical excellence that once kept this country in the forefront of space engineering (still going one by the way but with much smaller participation and scale).With access to previously unseen material and original drawing not mention some top notch CGI shots - this is the story of what became known as MUSTARD - Multi Unit Space Transportation And Recovery Device. Not only was it ahead of it's time but with proper Government backing it could have been in space by the seventies and we probably be looking at a very different world. Instead the penpushers in Whitehall tried time and again to kill the program or stop the companies involved selling their designs to US companies involved in NASA programmes- unfortunately for us in the UK - they were successful.Great book - delivered next day and a wonderful read. Highly Recommended.

I have to admit this project Mustard had not exactly registered on interest until recently. Having found a illustration on Twitter and later being contacted by Dan, I just had to buy this book.I'm happy I did, a fascinating story of how we in the UK almost built a Space Shuttle 10 years before NASA!Very well written and illustrated, I HIGHLY recommend this book!

Excellent book, with remarkable research about a project I had seen only in poor-quality illustrations. It shows the development of Mustard through over a dozen design iterations with many rare illustrations and new renderings. The book is well-focussed too, keeping close to its topic rather than spreading itself thin over barely-related projects as many aerospace history books do. Daniel Sharp has done a superb job and it is a more-than-worthy addition to the Secret Projects series. My only quibble would be with the three-column layout of the text, which looks untidy and breaks up the sentences.However I must warn that Amazon's service was appalling. First they failled to deliver after promising that it was en route (after being delayed by months), then they cancelled the order without my knowledge or permission and as a final insult, invited me to purchase the book again at a higher price. Buy direct from the publisher or another store. Do NOT buy from Amazon.

An excellent study of of a subject that has for too long been over-looked. The book fill a great void in what has been a topic that has been shrouded in secrecy and myth for too many years. It gives a clear narrative of the background to and development of MUSTARD, as well as other alternatives. I would heartily recommend this tome to anyone who has an interest in the subject matter, be they the curious reader or those more seriously interested in the subject. All in all, a great addition to the British Secret Projects family,

A really well written book with superb production values. There is so much new information in this book about the P42 programme and this covers every variant of the BAC Mustard shuttle, I didn't realise there were so many versions, I was hoping to see new illustrations of these and I wasn't disappointed, I was particularly impressed by the artist's impressions of the penultimate Mustard (Mustard 15), the profiles and the paintings are incredibly realistic and it was nice to see the Wilf Hardy painting of a Mustard launch filling a full page.

Very good coverage of hypersonic projects, and the MUSTARD project as well as other projects in Europe and the USA which had some influence. The studies contributing to the Rockwell Space Shuttle are well covered, HOTOL is also briefly covered at the end as it falls outside the study time frame of this book.

This is pretty much the definitive example of what a reference book on a little known space project should be like.Beautifully illustrated, with loads of solid information, (plans etc), almost none of which is available online. A decent amount to cover related projects, to set the main items in a firm context,I'd suggest it's particularly suited to spacecraft modellers, (digital or traditional).Very highly recommended.

Very interesting book. I've read the first chapter so far. I have 4 books from the British Secret Projects series from about 10 years ago, some of these have been updated and will have around 60 new pages. I look forward to reading these and other books in the series.

Daniel Sharp Book offers best overview on Britain own plans for Space Shuttleform early design to classic MUSTARD to involvement in US Shuttle program.rich Illustrated with more detailed text about the program.Daniel Sharp Buch ist das beste über Britannien eigen plane für RaumfähreVon erste Studien zu MUSTARD Studien bis Mitarbeit an US Raumfährereichlich Illustriert mit text über die Projekte

The depth and scope of coverage of this volume is impressive. Far from just coverage of MUSTARD (Britain's Space Shuttle.) and it's direct antecedents there is coverage of the American and European industry along with a study of hypersonics. (The archival BAC evaluation of the STS is also great reading.)Readers cognizant of Sandy's White Paper and the rationalization of the British aircraft industry will understand some of the back stories within the volume. Overall there is plenty of great material covering a broad spectrum of design concepts for reusable space vehicles ranging from the concepts of Eugen Sänger to HOTOL.As for the volume itself, there are plenty of OEM 3 view and brochure drawings along with excellent color illustrations.Highly Recommended

Le produit est arrive dans les temps estime de livraison, il est conforme a ce qui etait specifie dans l'annonce. Le livre est riche d'illustrations et de photos, la qualite du livre est tres bonne.

Well researched and documented history of British plans for a space program with the ultimate goal of a British space shuttle. Unfortunately, this has yet to materialize. Many well laid strategies were pursued for this objective, but an overly cautious government and tight purse stings seem to have strangled such programs right out of the gate. A good read, but a sad ending.

Brilliant book, many new and spectacular designs I've never seen before. The high quality color CG impressions were a nice bonus. As to the quality of the book itself - nice glossy pages, color throughout, high quality hardcover. First class effort!