INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE
Long before space became the final frontier, it inspired some of the most powerful imagery of the mid-20th century. The V-2 rockets of World War II ushered in the space age. Then, in 1951, the Soviet Union launched two dogs, Dezik and Tsygan, into space and returned them to Earth unharmed, suggesting that space travel for humans was also possible. It seemed like the universe and everything in it would soon be within reach.
Suddenly, space jargon and images were everywhere, reflected in the shape of everything from appliances to auto tail fins. Oldsmobile built the Rocket 88; the world’s first jetliner was the Comet; The Jetsons were on TV; newsstands were crammed with space comics; and It Came from Outer Space was just one of hundreds of Hollywood sci-fi epics.
Cycle makers caught the fever too: BSA made the Star Twin and Road Rocket; Vincent built the Comet and Meteor; and Royal Enfield’s performance twin of 1958 was named for patterns of stars in the celestial sphere: Constellation.
Space race
It seems to be a little-known fact that for 10 years, Royal Enfield made Britain’s biggest capacity parallel twins. The 693cc Super Meteor and Constellation held the title from 1953 to 1962, when Norton launched its 750 Atlas. (Enfield came back with the 750 Interceptor.) And like most of the other British twins (BSA being the exception), Enfield’s bigger banger started
