Megaroc was a British proposal for an crewed suborbital derivative of the
V2 proposed by R A Smith of the
British Interplanetary Society
The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest existing space advocacy organisation in the world. Its aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration.
Stru ...
. The proposal was sent to the
British Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
on 23 December 1946. Though slightly smaller the vehicle had a lot in common with the
Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle
The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American crewed space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–1961; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks l ...
that would put the first American in space some 15 years later. The vehicle was proposed several months after a similar V2-derived rocket, the Soviet Tikhonravov Suborbital proposal.
Though derived from the V2 very few parts remained in their original form. While the origin and turbo pumps were largely the same their orientation was changed. The tankage was of greater radius and length to carry an increased fuel load party offset by a lighter payload. The stabilisation fins at the base of the V2 were removed and the rocket was made to spin slightly to improve stability. This is now a common feature of rockets but was unusual for early rockets. The explosive warhead was replaced with an unpressurised capsule, the pilot relying on a suit for life support.
As the rocket climbed and acceleration built with the reduction in mass, the pilot could reduce the thrust to limit the g load to 3.3. Once above the dense atmosphere and after the main engine cut off, the capsule would separate from the main rocket body. Parachutes would be deployed very early in the return journey, at about 113 km, removing the need for heat shielding. The maximum altitude was over 304 km. Both the capsule and the main body would soft land and be capable of reuse.
It was recognised that there would need to be a period of development and risk reduction, this was estimated at 5 years and would have meant a first all-up flight in 1951 or 52.
The British government did not take the project forward. Instead, choosing to concentrate on Nuclear and conventional research which had a more immediate military use.
[
] The United Kingdom was effectively bankrupt after WW2 and there were only limited resources available but even when funds became easier the government mostly chose not to participate in space research except when derived relatively cheaply from military projects.
References
Space programme of the United Kingdom
Space launch vehicles of the United Kingdom
History of science and technology in the United Kingdom
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