Black Arrow - The uk`s satellite launch system

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The UK is the onlu sounty in the entire world to have developed a succesful satelite launch programme , then cancelled it.

That project was called `Black Arrow`.

It was based upon the US designed Black Knight rocket and after alot of developement the first of 4 test firings took place in 1969


4 firings took place , 2 failed 2 were succesful.

the last took place after the programme was cancelled in october 1971 - the satellite , prospero (X-3) is still in orbit today.

The engines used a mixture of High Test Peroxide (HTP) and Kerosene and therefore needed no ignition system making them vwry simple to operate.

passing HTP over a catlyst (platimun usually) meant is decomposed exothermically into water and oxygen, put some fuel there and you have a self igniting rocket. with a very clean exhaust.

Ps. You might have noticed the avatar i have been using for quite a while.

Black Knight American?!

I don't think so -

Britain had developed a test missile called Black Knight.

Researchers launched Black Knight vehicles at steep angles with test re-entry heads of different shapes and materials. As the heads re-entered the atmosphere, the researchers monitored their behaviour and used the information to design the operational warhead for Blue Streak.

Black Knight was originally designed to accelerate a re-entry head back into the atmosphere at speeds of about 3.6 kilometres per second.

Black Knight was a far smaller rocket vehicle than Blue Streak. It was not nearly powerful enough to launch a satellite.

www.fathom.com...

- BTW check out the link; it is an excellent telling of the story of Black Knight, Blue Streak, Black Prince and of course the tragically cut-short technical gem that was Black Arrow.

In fact the Black Knight link from your Cape Canaveral Black arrow link shows the true roots of Black Knight -

Black Knight was developed at a cost of £5 Million by Saunders-Roe, Bristol Siddeley Engines, the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and the Rocket Propulsion Establishment.

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[edit on 28-2-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

The best web repository of information on the former UK rocket programme is:

www.spaceuk.org...

They have full details of blue steel, blue streak, black knight, black arrow, the engines and all the could have beens (if only we had the money). The book 'vertical empire' (same guys) is also a very good read for a more in depth look.

For the 'current' UK rocket programme see:

www.starchaser.co.uk...

They are planning on firing the largest rocket engine (the churchill mk 3.) fired in the uk for the last 40 years (~33,000 lbf) sometime next year, once they have sorted the storm engine for the sounding rocket they are building.

They still have a long way to go if they want to beat the Delta 3 rocket engine (Kerosene/ LOX), which at 180,000 lbf is the largest rocket engine ever designed and fired in the uk.

[edit on 4-6-2006 by paperplane_uk]

I've read a little about it and it still amazes me that it was canceled. The engines alone were a marvel. Rolls-Royce apperantly took an American design and refined it and was known to be very reliable. Later when the Black Arrow first stage was used as part of a joint European program, was successful fired in all launches. The British government called this a failure, as well, despite the fact the only part that didn't work was the final stage, which was built by Germany. One only needs to look at how successful the Japanese rocket program has been to visualize where Britain would have been by now. It seems ironic that in 1957 the British government announced the future was to be with missles and rockets, and yet hardly any were produced. After the near collapse of it's aviation industry, the British rocket program was one of the only things that kept it from being regarded as second-rate. Black Arrow stands out as perhaps one of the last examples of British industrial independence.

Originally posted by TSR2005
I've read a little about it and it still amazes me that it was canceled. The engines alone were a marvel. Rolls-Royce apperantly took an American design and refined it and was known to be very reliable.

This was the RZ2 engines of the Blue Streak MRBM. The engines for the Black Knight were all based around the uk designed gamma engine (a development of the small cruising chamber from the Blue steel stand off bomb's Stentor engine)

Later when the Black Arrow first stage was used as part of a joint European program, was successful fired in all launches. The British government called this a failure, as well, despite the fact the only part that didn't work was the final stage, which was built by Germany.

Again this is Blue Streak NOT Black Arrow

One only needs to look at how successful the Japanese rocket program has been to visualize where Britain would have been by now. It seems ironic that in 1957 the British government announced the future was to be with missles and rockets, and yet hardly any were produced. After the near collapse of it's aviation industry, the British rocket program was one of the only things that kept it from being regarded as second-rate. Black Arrow stands out as perhaps one of the last examples of British industrial independence.

Even more so when you look at the pittance of a budget that they had to work with.

Black Arrow was developed from Blue Streak. The program changed when the UK decided not to create a land-based missile force. Hence, why Black Arrow came so Quickly after Blue Streak, and the joint European effort after that. Britain could only afford to develop one design, and they made the most out of it.

Originally posted by TSR2005
Black Arrow was developed from Blue Streak. The program changed when the UK decided not to create a land-based missile force. Hence, why Black Arrow came so Quickly after Blue Streak, and the joint European effort after that. Britain could only afford to develop one design, and they made the most out of it.

Black Arrow was a development of black knight not blue streak. They are fundamentaly different designs. They even looked at using black arrow as the upper stages on top of a blue streak launcher. This to me always seemed like the next logical step but it was never done as the relative sizes would not provide an economical and sufficient obital payload size.

see rocket number 11 on the following page:

www.spaceuk.org...

[edit on 14-6-2006 by paperplane_uk]