Britain’s Space Shuttle: The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device Concept (Mustard)

Mustard, was a reusable launch system concept that was explored by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) during the mid-1960s. Mustard was intended to operate as a multistage rocket, the individual stages comprising near-identical spaceplane modules. These planes, or stages, were hypersonic vehicles, capable of flying at speeds in excess of five times the speed of sound. Following a vertically-standing launch, each stage was to progressively separate during the ascent, after which they would individually