A mockup of the Prospero satellite |
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| Operator | RAE |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | BAC MES |
| Mission type | Technology |
| Launch date | 28 October 1971 |
| Carrier rocket | Black Arrow R3 |
| Launch site | LA-5B, Woomera |
| COSPAR ID | 1971-093A |
| Mass | 66kg |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | LEO |
| Inclination | 82° |
| Apoapsis | 1,402 kilometres (871 mi) |
| Periapsis | 531 kilometres (330 mi) |
| Orbital period | 104.4 minutes |
The Prospero satellite, also known as X-3,[1] is a satellite launched by the United Kingdom in 1971. It was designed to undertake a series of experiments studying the effects of the space environment. It is the only United Kingdom satellite to be successfully launched by a UK rocket; it was launched in October 1971, remained operational until 1973, and was contacted annually for over a quarter century after that.[2] However, it was not the first satellite launched by the UK; that honour belongs to Ariel 1, which was launched in April 1962.
Prospero has the COSPAR (NSSC ID) designation 1971-093A, and the US Space Command satellite catalogue number 05580.
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The satellite was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough;[2] it was initially called Puck,[3] and was designed to conduct experiments to test solar cells and detect micrometeorites. When the Ministry of Defence canceled the Black Arrow programme,[4] the Prospero team decided to continue their mission,[2] but renamed the satellite Prospero when it was announced it would be the last launch attempt using a British rocket.[3]
It 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. A previous launch attempt, of another Black Arrow, with the Orba X-2 satellite, failed to achieve orbit after a premature second stage shut down.
A tape recorder is on board, which failed on 24 May 1973 after 730 plays.
As of 2006, radio transmissions from Prospero could still be heard on 137.560 MHz,[5] although it had officially been deactivated in 1996, when the UK's Defence Research Establishment decommissioned their satellite tracking station at Lasham, Hampshire. It is in a low Earth orbit, and is not expected to decay for about 100 years.
In September 2011, a team at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory went public with plans to try to re-establish communications with Prospero in time for the satellite's 40th anniversary.[2]
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