What Went Wrong with Dan Dare?
Dave Wright and Nicholas Hill explain the failure of Britain’s post-war attempts to join the space race.
In 1960 Britain was ten years ahead of the rest of Europe in developing satellite launchers. But by 1971, when Britain placed its first artificial satellite Prospero in orbit, she was only the sixth nation to put up a satellite using her own launcher. What happened during this decade to destroy Britain’s ambition to become a major player in the space race? The answer lies in a failure of the nation’s political will and economic capacity to match the ambitions and capability of her scientists.
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