Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!ames!amdcad!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!mcvax!ukc!eagle.ukc.ac.uk!icdoc!ist!kev
From: kev@ist.CO.UK (News reading a/c for kevin)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: alternate launch vehicles
Message-ID: <372@istop.ist.CO.UK>
Date: 20 Oct 88 13:09:33 GMT
References: <3433@geac.UUCP>
Organization: Imperial Software Technology, London, UK
Lines: 45

From article <3433@geac.UUCP>, by cbs@geac.UUCP (Chris Syed):
>     [...] 
> 
>     Also, with all the recent talk of shuttle designs, I am reminded of an
>     article by one of the UK netters about an air-breathing shuttle
>     BAC (I think) was designing for Her Majesty's Gov't. Is this programme
>     completely utterly dead?
> 
>        {uunet!mnetor,unicus,yunexus,}!geac!cbs (Chris Syed) 

Following the Leaderine's invocation of our version of the Emergency 
Powers Act, anyone caught communicating on topics of National Security, 
such as Hotol, with foreign powers will be sentenced to catching the 
23:15 Lager Lout Special from Liverpool Street whilst sober!

[Sorry! Wrong newsgroup for political/social comments]

It appears as though British Aerospace's (BAe) Hotol project has been 
swept under the carpet again. BAe want to proceed but are not prepared to
unless the cost can be shared with someone else. HMG is not prepared to 
spend anything on it (or anything else if they can help it), but will 
permit BAe to look for other investors, as long as they are not foreign
to the UK - for reasons of NATIONAL SECURITY. Naturally there are no
indigenous companies prepared to invest/risk large sums of money on the 
venture. The designer (whether of the engines alone or the project in 
general, I'm uncertain) apparently is the modern day equivalent of 
Barnes Wallace and Frank Whittle, and has publicly stated that his baby
WILL be built, and that as HE holds the copyrights he would 'defect' to 
the highest bidder should the project be stopped. HMG informed him that 
this would break the Official Secrets Act...        etc.,etc.

Now, I've written this with no research, so the information I've given 
MAY be incorrect. I am relying on memory and the television news over 
the past few months. I can confirm that BAe were handing out sheets about
Hotol on their stand at Farnborough in September, but I'm afraid I'm not
going to wade through back issues of Flight and New Scientist to get to
the ACTUAL current situation :-). I hope someone else would correct me if 
I'm wrong.

Kev Holmes					kev@ist.CO.UK
Imperial Software Technology			Home Bone (44) 252 547902
Reading, Royal Berkshire, UK.

"In fact, we're going so fast that controlling the ship is a real
 brown-trouser job."     - Holly, Red Dwarf