Posted by James May at 6:00PM on Tuesday 20 February, 2007 22 Comments
Since everyone - Jeremy included (read his blog) - is harping on about mine and Hammond's astronomical rocketry failure, let me make one thing clear.
Exploration of the final frontier is no easier now than it was when Gagarin fell to Earth and told a Russian peasant woman that he'd come from space.
Robert Goddard, the father of rocketry, spent years of his life blowing up his own garden and singeing his moustache.
The early efforts of Von Braun and his team were no less disastrous, and even when the V2 finally flew, Braun is reported to have said that it landed on the wrong planet.
No one before has boldly eyed the job of space conquest from such a nadir as the cabin of a Reliant Robin. I think we did quite well, considering.
The rockets fired in the right order, the boosters separated at the right time, the whole assembly went roughly vertically, it looked pretty good and no one was killed.
Britain has never lost a man in space, and wasn't going to on our watch, although several people were pretty pissed off.
The only thing that prevented a completely successful re-entry and landing was the explosive release bolt holding the shuttle to the main fuel tank. Had this worked, I'm sure the Reliant Orbiter would have glided beautifully to a smooth and uneventful touthdown, and the European Space Agency would be clamouring for the opportunity to fund the next phase of the programme - a manned Mars mission.
As it is, we have been knocked back several years by the failure of one off-the-shelf component, just as the Challenger was. Once that's sorted, the money will come flooding in, of that I'm sure.
But I think it's going to be a long, long time.
22 Comments for "Rocket men"
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I was really quite impressed. The fact that you were able to develop and execute such a plan in such a short time should be a lesson for NASA.
Overall an amazing feat. One thing I don't remember being mentioned - do you know how high it went?
I think you're right, it was just the one component and everyone was amazed because of two things. First, the robin/shuttle made its way up to the target altitude without a hitch and second, you made a very big hole in the ground.
I think it is the first of these two things that you should be most proud of but you have to admit that it was a great explosion.I don't think it was a faliure at all! Sure the Reliant couldn't be re-used like a real shuttle, but you both proved that we've still got some of the best brains in the world, here on our little island.
A truly impressive feat, well done Top Gear and the Guys from Glossop. Bravo!
The Reliant Rocket was the most impressive stunt in series' history. Congratulations James, Richard, and the entire build team who pulled off such an astonishing feat in such a short amount of time. Well done!
I think the phrase that NASA uses is 'incomplete mission objective'. This one came pretty darn close.
Bravo, James. I was one of the people who first heard of the idea and thought 'oh, that's nuts, that could never work.'
Even though you didn't quite get it to work, all that failed you was one bolt, and the rest was pretty impressive. I admire yours and Hammond's big imaginations and willingness to try. Go get 'em, Captain!Yes indeed James, hail the latest challenger to NASA and the European Space Agency. Corporates and governments recognise a space shuttle and budding astronauts when they see them, so if I were the chief of NASA, I'd be losing sleep already about my first real competition since the Soviets.
Keep it coming boys, it's great fun.You've just got to it try again. Dont wait years as it was truly inspiring. I work in the Aerospace industry and the whole team at work here were over the moon with what you and your rocket men have done.
Nasa spend billions and the Brits go and do it on a shoestring. Well done!
I thought you guys (and the rocket men, of course) did really well and the whole launch was very entertaining.
As soon as you pressed the big button, I wondered if the robin would just blow up or stay perfectly still on the launching pad.
Getting it off the ground was an acheivement.It would have been fantastic if the fuel tank had been released, too!
Team, it was impressive! Very, very impressive! Pioneers in such a, err, unique science will mean that there are certain setbacks.
Obviously things will not always run smoothly, and you can't get less smoother than the Reliant Orbiter.
Oh and well done on not injuring anything apart from that poor rabbit you can see running away from the 'impact zone'.
Amazing display of courage and engineering.One small step for Top Gear, one giant explosion for a Reliant spacecraft. Maybe with a few changes, the next step is surely the moon
Was the blackbox recovered??
It wasn't a failure - and that was quite some explosion!
It's amazing what two presenters from a 'poky BBC2 motoring show', teamed with the finest minds in Britain working in what was basically a shed, can achieve!
I must admit I was quite suprised when it actually took off, and then for it to fail due to just one dodgy component was bad luck.
Considering the first time Britain tried to launch a probe to Mars, it failed, I wouldn't be too upset.(Oh, and don't let Clarkson annoy you - he'll consider it a victory)
Fleming didn't discover penicillin using large laboratories and extensive drug trials, and it was a chemist who invented the lightbulb.
It's that passion and gamble on things that actually bring about great leaps forward.
Well done for keeping up the inventor's spirit.
I think you have to ignore the people moaning about wasting license money and try again.
May I suggest a Bond Bug might make a better orbiter?
Great job James May!! There was only one problem with it crashing to the ground, it did not land on Jeremy's new Lambo!
That's all you should be unhappy about. Keep up the good work.That was a great show, I hope you guys try again. The lift off was perfect and guidance worked faultlessly. No problems after SRB separation either.
Next time, you could modify the stack? Put the Reliant on top of the tank, and the main engines under it. That will give you less headaches.The Reliant Rocket was the most impressive stunt in the series' history, it was cool and ace, but it come down like a bomb! You should be really proud and you have to admit that it was a great explosion.
What's next ???? Awesome show as usual?!I thought that it was brilliant. It took off beautifully, and considering you didn't have a billion dollars, it was still amazing.
Please don't stop doing stuff like this. It's a very good excuse for wheeling out the scientists and engineers, and in about 6 years when the BBC has gone through its health and saftey protocol, give it another go!
Fabulous show - we were on the edge of our seats. When the fuel tank didn't come off I nearly cried! I think Jeremy secretly knackered that bolt.
It was second only to the boating cars. I actually talked about the programme with my 3 sisters.
TOP GEAR - NOT JUST FOR BOYS.It just goes to show that no project is big enough to tackle for the Top Gear guys. This showcase was absolutely brilliant.
Although if Clarkson did have a stab at it the Reliant, it probably would have gone backwards like the seat on the kit car at Caterham.
Simply spectacular that 2 blokes could get a car into the air. It was wonderful and just thrilling (in an '8 year old' kind of way) to know it had been done.Keep 'em launching!
Simon
Friday 23 February 2007, 7.29AM
The launch was truly amazing! I didn't think that it would get off the ground, but to watch the Reliant gracefully propel into the sky, had me cheering at the TV.
Great to see what a few guys from 'up north' working with a limited budget can do. Don't stop making programs like this. It was truly inspiring to watch