Many space projects have fallen by the wayside, for one reason or another. Here is a small selection...

• The Rotary Rocket Corporation of the USA had an interesting idea for a single stage to orbit vehicle.  It contained a simple engine design that used a rotating plate to feed a ring of combustion chambers by centrifugal force. The vehicle also incorporate a helicopter rotor for use during re-entry. Initial trials took place using just the rotor to take off and land. Unfortunately, the financial backing for the project was removed by its backers and the RRC is no more.

• The HOTOL Project: This was a single-stage-to-orbit space plane, using a revolutionary air-breathing-with-liquefaction hybrid jet/rocket motor - not a SCRAMJET, apparently. It was even given a Rolls-Royce engine designation, but, of course, never built. The HOTOL concept (HOrizontal Take-Off and Land) was due to the inventor Alan Bond. It has been developed into the "Skylon" concept, which is still being worked on (but will we ever see it take off?). Take a look here.

• The Mustard Project: This was a British Aerospace proposal for a "SSTO" vehicle that split into three, in a sandwich configuration. The outside, identical craft (rocket planes) helped to accelerate the central core into orbit, much as the Space Shuttle external boosters do, but these were to be fully reusable, as was the core craft, which was also a winged rocket plane. It was all cancelled at an early stage, but, as it was British, you knew that already!  

• Blue Streak and ELDO: Blue Streak, constructed by the De Havilland company, was designed as an ICBM delivery system, and was tested in Australia at Woomera. It functioned flawlessly over 11 test flights. The trouble started when the European Launcher Development Organisation was put together, which resulted in a three stage orbital launcher. It consisted of the Blue Streak first stage, and German and French second and third stages. Somehow, it never worked (Blue Streak functioned every time..) and the programme was cancelled. The British carried on for a short while using the Black Knight launcher to loft a single satellite "Prospero" into orbit.

• OTRAG - The "Billig-Rakete" project. A German entrepreneur, Lutz Kaiser, had plans to launch cheap ("billig" in German) (i.e. cheaply constructed and modular) rockets from Zaire (now "Democratic Republic of Congo") a near-equatorial African country. The rockets would be made of steel (nice and cheap) and would use kerosene as fuel, and nitrogen dioxide as oxidiser. NO2 is easier to handle that LOX, being liquid at ambient temperature and very modest pressure. In 1975 to 1979, a number of test flights took place with ascents to 20-30km, but international political pressure forced Kaiser to cease activities in Zaire, move to Libya, cease activities there shortly afterwards for the same reason, carry out a final test at Kiruna Sweden, and finally wind up the company. I am indebted to Mr. T.Bluhm for replying to my earlier appeal for information on this project.

• Saunders-Roe SR53: This was an experimental rocket + jet plane, constructed in the 1950's. Its operational ceiling was not revealed, although the only full test of the rocket engine took it up to 60,000 feet. Three were planned, but only two were built, one of which was lost in a crash on take-off in which the pilot also lost his life. It had been designed as a high-level interceptor against the threat of high-flying nuclear bombers. There was a project to build an operational fighter based on the SR53, but that was cancelled shortly after construction work had begun. There was, however, a plastic scale model kit issued, by the Airfix company, in the 1960s.

• Black Knight: Successor in the British space programme (remember that?) to Blue Streak. It launched a satellite into orbit, after which the whole British Space programme was promptly cancelled. Surprise, surprise! No other nation on earth has cancelled an entire space programme.