Prospero

Britain's first and only satellite launched by an indigenous rocket, the Black Arrow. Prospero was manufactured by the British Aircraft Corporation and Marconi and placed in a polar orbit, in which it remains today. It tested equipment for future satellites and carried an experiment to measure the incidence of micrometeoroids. The satellite operated successfully until 1973 and was contacted annually until 1996, using telemetry from the Lasham groundstation.

launch date	Oct. 28, 1971
launch vehicle	Black Arrow
launch site	Woomera
mass	66 kg
orbit	531 × 1,403 km × 82.0°

Related categories

• SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES
• BRITAIN IN SPACE

Also on this site:

Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living
Encyclopedia of History

BACK TO TOP