Skylark (rocket)

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For more uses of the word Skylark, see Skylark (disambiguation)

The Skylark sounding rocket

The final launch of the Skylark at Esrange, Sweden on May 2, 2005

Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005.

The design first dates to 1955, when initial work was carried out by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough and the Rocket Propulsion Establishment at Westcott. The first vehicles were ready less than two years later, and sent for testing to Woomera during the International Geophysical Year. Skylarks were built in some numbers into the 1970s, until the UK government decided to end the program in 1977, thinking that future "low weight" research would be carried out on the Space Shuttle instead. The program was handed to British Aerospace, who later sold it to Matra Marconi Space, who in 1999 in turn sold it to a small private company, Sounding Rocket Services, based in Bristol.

The basic Skylark is 7.6 m long, 0.44 m in diameter and has a fin span of 0.96 m. Booster stages can increase the height to 12.8m. The original version was propelled by 840 kilograms of solid fuel, which enabled 45 kg to be launched to an altitude of over 200 km. Improvements were made to the engine and the use of a booster increased the payload to 200 kg in 1960. Skylark 12, from 1976, could lift 200 kg to 575 km.

Due to its small mass and low thrust, the original version of the Skylark had to be launched from a 25-meter, tilting tower to overcome the effects of the wind. Later versions only require a simple trailer.

A Skylark Raven (c. 1957) is on display in the University of Leicester, Department of Physics and Astronomy. A Skylark Goldfinch Raven is also on display at the National Space Centre in Leicester. --Rich.wrigley 20:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)