Prospero (satellite)
Flight spare of the Prospero satellite in Science Museum, London.
|
|
| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | RAE |
| COSPAR ID | 1971-093A |
| SATCAT no. | 5580 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer |
BAC Marconi |
| Launch mass | 66 kilograms (146 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 October 1971 |
| Rocket | Black Arrow R3 |
| Launch site | Woomera LA-5B |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 7,295.54 kilometres (4,533.24 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.053451 |
| Perigee | 534 kilometres (332 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,314 kilometres (816 mi) |
| Inclination | 82.04 degrees |
| Period | 103.36 minutes |
| Epoch | 24 January 2015, 04:50:31 UTC |
The Prospero satellite, also known as the X-3, was launched by the United Kingdom in 1971. It was designed to undertake a series of experiments to study the effects of space environment on communications satellites and remained operational until 1973, after which it was contacted annually for over twenty-five years. Although Prospero was the first British satellite to have been launched successfully by a British rocket, the first British satellite placed in orbit was Ariel 1, launched in April 1962 on a U.S. rocket.
Prospero has the COSPAR (NSSC ID) designation 1971-093A and the US Space Command satellite catalogue number 05580.
Prospero was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. Initially called Puck, it was designed to conduct experiments to test the technologies necessary for communication satellites, such as solar cells, telemetry and power systems. It also carried a micrometeoroid detector, to measure the presence of very small particles. When the Ministry of Defence cancelled the Black Arrow programme, the development team decided to continue with the project, but renamed the satellite Prospero when it was announced it would be the last launch attempt using a British rocket. An earlier Black Arrow launch, carrying the Orba X-2 satellite, had failed to achieve orbit after a premature second-stage shut down.
Prospero was launched at 04:09 GMT on 28 October 1971, from Launch Area 5B (LA-5B) at Woomera, South Australia, on a Black Arrow rocket, making Britain the sixth nation to place a satellite into orbit using a domestically developed carrier rocket. The Black Arrow's final stage Waxwing rocket also entered orbit, "rather too enthusiastically", as it continued to thrust after separation and collided with Prospero, detaching one of the satellite's four radio antennae.
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