History of British Space Science

In this chapter and the following two chapters we attempt to convey an impression of the scale and effectiveness of research in the different branches of space science carried out by British scientists from the beginning. The sheer volume and variety of this work is immense and it would be both impracticable and pointless to attempt anything like a comprehensive account. Instead we shall concentrate attention on a number of areas in which the UK contribution has been especially impressive while at the same time saying something in much less detail about the remaining work. It is in any case somewhat invidious in describing scientific research to select work done by scientists from one country as all the work is truly international and we shall try to avoid any trace of chauvinism in our account.

In this chapter we concentrate on research work directed towards the study of the earth, including the solid earth and the lower, middle and outer neutral atmosphere. Some reference will also be made to lunar and planetary studies. Although much of the earth's environment is under solar control, it is convenient to deal with the work done in solar physics, including X-ray and ultra-violet solar astronomy, in Chapter 15, which is devoted to astronomy.