Black Arrow

Black Arrow originated from a Royal Aircraft Establishment proposal for a rocket capable of placing a payload into low Earth orbit, in order to test systems designed for larger spacecraft. In the autumn of 1964, the programme was authorised by Conservative Aviation Minister Julian Amery. Then, following a general election in October, the incoming Labour government put the project on hold to reduce expenditure. Following another election, the British government approved the continuation of the programme with several modifications, including the reduction of the test programme from five to three launches. The maiden launch was set for 1968. Initial development was conducted by the British aerospace manufacturer Saunders-Roe, which merged into Westland Aircraft in 1964. Westland was subsequently the prime contractor for the Black Arrow, and assembled the first and second stages at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, later testing the rockets from the 1950s up until the rocket launch on 28 October 1971. The British powerplant specialist Bristol Siddeley produced the first and second stage engines at a factory in Ansty, Warwickshire. The engines were test fired at the factory before being shipped to the Isle of Wight, where they were integrated into the rocket and the first stage engines were fired again at High Down. Bristol Aerojet produced the third stage in Somerset, while the Explosives Research and Development Establishment produced its solid propellant in Waltham Abbey, Essex. The majority of the technology and systems used on Black Arrow had already been developed or flight-proven on the Black Knight rocket, or the Blue Steel missile. Many senior staff of the Black Knight programme transferred directly to Black Arrow, including the Chief Missile Scientist Roy Dommett, the Chief Design Engineer Ray Wheeler, and the Deputy Chief Engineer John Underwood. Despite this effort, the programme encountered more difficulties and greater costs than had originally been anticipated. This outcome was in no small part due to the austere budget of £3 million per year. The name Black Arrow came from the Ministry of Supply policy of assigning designations consisting of a colour and a noun, unofficially known as Rainbow Codes, to research programmes conducted by the Armed Forces. Despite this naming convention, the programme was officially a civilian venture. It was unofficially nicknamed the "Lipstick Rocket", as the fairing, which was painted bright red for visibility, made the rocket resemble a tube of lipstick. ==Vehicle==

Black Arrow was a relatively compact launch vehicle, being particularly slender as well as possibly being the shortest rocket ever to place a satellite into orbit. Due to the optimum mixture ratio being about 7, a larger oxidiser tank was required compared to many contemporary launch systems. The oxidiser tanks were located below the fuel tanks, following the practice of putting the more dense propellant at the top in order move the centre of gravity higher and make the rocket more stable, when in flight, and thus easier to control. Thrust vectoring was used to provide attitude control on the first two stages. The guidance system used was derived from that of the cancelled BAC TSR-2 bomber. The first stage was powered by a single Gamma 8 engine, which burned for 127 seconds. It was long, and had a diameter of , the same diameter as the French Coralie. For this reason, all dimensions in the original specification were given in imperial units except the first stage diameter, which was given in metric units. The first and second stages were connected by an interstage structure containing four Siskin IB separation and ullage motors, which separated and ignited seven seconds after the first stage had cut off. The interstage separated from the second stage six seconds later. The second stage, which was long and measured in diameter, was powered by a two-chamber Gamma 2 engine which ignited shortly after the separation motors, and continued to burn for 123 seconds. Despite this, the spacecraft was still able to complete its mission successfully. In its standard configuration, Black Arrow was not capable of launching some contemporary satellites up to a sufficient altitude to achieve geostationary orbit. Accordingly, one proposal was to add eight Raven solid rocket motors from the Skylark programme to the first stage as booster rockets. while a third proposal involved replacing the Gamma engines with the more powerful Larch. ==Launches==

Four Black Arrows were launched between 1969 and 1971. The first two launches were demonstration flights, with battleship third stages and a boilerplate payload. On the maiden flight, an electrical fault caused a pair of first stage combustion chambers to pivot back and forth. Before it cleared the launch pad, the rocket was rolling erratically, and about a minute later it began to disintegrate. After the first stage engine failed, and the rocket began to fall back to earth, it was destroyed by range safety. This initial failure was a considerable blow to the programme, particularly as there were insufficient financial reserves to accommodate a second unsuccessful launch. The second Black Arrow vehicle was returned to Britain for inspection and fixes ahead of the next launch. The second launch, performed on 4 March 1970, was entirely successful. An extensive programme review was conducted in the aftermath of the third launch, which determined that Black Arrow's design had no fundamental flaws and that only minor modifications were required. Prior to the cancellation of the Black Arrow programme, the satellite was to be named after Puck from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. All four launches were conducted from Launch Area 5B at the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in Australia, which had previously been used as a test site for the Black Knight rocket. During the development programme, launch sites in Barbados, Uist, and Norfolk were also considered. The launch sites at Uist and Norfolk were rejected because the former was too remote, while there was a risk that a rocket launched from the latter might drop spent stages on an oil rig in the North Sea. ==Cancellation==

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Frederick Corfield, announced the cancellation of the Black Arrow project in the House of Commons on 29 July 1971. Britain would instead focus its space activities on building satellites and rely on foreign launch vehicles. As the R3 rocket had already been shipped to the launch site, the second stage having arrived three days earlier, permission was given for it to be launched. Prior to the cancellation of Black Arrow, NASA had offered to launch British payloads for free; however, this offer was withdrawn following the decision to cancel Black Arrow. A replica of the Black Arrow rocket stands in the Rocket Park at Woomera. In addition, the remains of the first stage of Black Arrow R3 were recovered from the Anna Creek cattle station and were displayed in the William Creek Memorial Park. Due to weather and vandalism related damage, the first stage was returned to the United Kingdom in an initiative led by Skyrora to preserve the artefact. It was displayed in Penicuik, Scotland, in early 2019; as of Spring 2024, the rocket is on loan to the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum. The launch facilities at Woomera were demolished within a year of the final flight, As of 2024, the United Kingdom is the only country to have successfully developed and then abandoned a satellite launch capability. ==See also==