Blue Streak Missile Guidance Bay (Nosecone)

Blue Streak Missile Guidance Bay (Nosecone)

Blue Streak rocket nosecone (missile guidance bay), built by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics. The nosecone comes in two sections, split horizontally, and contains gyroscopes and valves that provided the guidance for the Blue Streak rocket in flight.

Blue Streak was originally a medium-range ballistic missile, developed by Britain in the 1950s with the aim of maintaining a nuclear deterrent. De Havilland Aircraft built the main body of the rocket, and Rolls-Royce built the engines. However, due to mounting costs and its vulnerability to pre-emptive strikes, the missile programme was cancelled in 1960.

Blue Streak then became the first stage of a new European satellite launch vehicle called Europa. As part of the testing programme, eleven Blue Streaks were launched – all of them successful. However, the Europa rocket as a whole did not fare as well and never managed to put a satellite into orbit. There were repeated problems with the second and third rocket stages, and the British Government lost enthusiasm for the project. By the early 1970s, in the face of mounting costs, Britain pulled out of the Europa project – despite Blue Streak’s successful record.