By the time the last Skylark rocket was launched in 2005,
nearly 450 launches had been carried out in the nearly
50 year lifetime of the programme. The Skylark is a largely
unsung hero of the UK space programme - in fact its use
went far beyond the UK as it was used also by NASA,
ESRO and German and Swedish space organisations.
It was launched from sites in Europe, Australia and
South America. It was used for research, amongst others,
in fields such as atmospheric studies, astronomy and
microgravity, as well as for technology proving.
Furthermore, it contributed to the training of a whole
generation of space scientists and engineers.
Matthew Godwin has skilfully and authoritatively charted
the first 15 years of the development of the Skylark
programme from its genesis deep in the Cold War era,
through the machinations of Government and the Civil
Service through to its extensive use by the European Space
Research Organisation. He has done a great service not
only to the specialists whose careers have been involved
with the Skylark programme but anyone with a
professional or even just passing interest in space research,
science and politics.
