On 28^th October 1971, Britain successfully launched its first rocket into orbit, joining an exclusive club of nations which included the United States and Soviet Union.

The rocket which enabled this success, the iconic Black Arrow, was launched from a remote testing facility in Woomera, South Australia. With it, Black Arrow carried Prospero – a small satellite weighing just 66kg.

Launched for scientific purposes, Prospero’s primary aim was to test new telemetry systems and analyse micrometeoroid particles in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The 1971 launch wasn’t the first attempt. In fact, four Black Arrows were launched between 1969 and 1971.

The first two launches saw mixed success. The first launch failed after an electric fault caused the rocket to eventually disintegrate. However, the second suborbital test of the first and second stages was a success.

On 2^nd September 1970, the third Black Arrow launched carrying what would’ve been Britain’s first satellite – had it successfully reached orbit. On this occasion, a leak caused the second stage oxidiser pressurisation system to fail, meaning that when the third stage fired, the rocket could not reach orbit.

The satellite onboard, named ‘Orba’, was built from spare parts due to funding restrictions at the time.

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Funding Cuts Hit Hard

Less than one year on from the failed Orba launch attempt, on 29^th July 1971, the cancellation of the Black Arrow project was announced in parliament.

Notably, the programme was cancelled due to budgetary restrictions. The Ministry of Defence had ruled that future satellite launches could be achieved far cheaper using the American-made Scout rocket, which offered a similar payload capacity to the Black Arrow.

Two Black Arrow rockets remained, however, and one had already been shipped to South Australia. The final rocket, designated R3, would prove the doubters wrong – making the success bitter sweet.

The famous R3 Black Arrow is now on public display at the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) Museum. The rocket was brought back to the UK by Edinburgh-based rocket firm Skyrora in an effort to preserve a priceless artefact of British innovation.

Prospero, meanwhile, continues to orbit the Earth. But perhaps not for much longer. Earlier this year, Skyrora announced plans to de-orbit the satellite as part of a drive to improve sustainability in space.

Nearly 50 years later, Black Arrow stands as testament to the expertise of British engineering. Amid an era of superpowers, Britain had sought to make its own mark in space, and on its own grounds.

Indeed, this plucky spirit has had somewhat of a revival in recent years amid the ongoing growth of Britain’s commercial space sector.

Launch site developments across the UK are gathering pace, and both Holyrood and Westminster have recently published strategies aimed at maximising future economic opportunities.

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