Letter: Britain left behind in space
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The article by Charles Arthur ("Spaceship of future will run on fresh air", 28 March) on Nasa's projected Hyper-X space vehicle, once again highlights Britain's current ineptitude when it comes to aerospace technology.
For 20-odd years after the Second World War, Britain led the world in the development of aero-engines, from the early turbines of Sir Frank Whittle, through to the unique Rolls-Royce Pegasus that first took to the air in 1960 powering the P 1127 "Jump Jet" - the forerunner of the Harrier.
Since then, brilliant engineers and designers, such as Alan Bond and David Ashford, have been totally frustrated by an apparent lack of interest from successive governments and an absence of financial support from a private sector that is only interested in short-term profit. Such an attitude has resulted in Britain falling well behind the United States and even France in export sales of aerospace hardware.
Whilst the work-force at Rolls-Royce continues to produce excellent jet engines for the world's airlines, their pioneering spirit seems to have deserted them and, as Charles Arthur reports, the next generation of engine designs - incorporating new technology - will be emerging from American factories.
J M TRACEY
Liverpool
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments