The Sparta was a three-stage rocket that launched
Australia's first Earth satellite,
WRESAT
WRESAT or Weapons Research Establishment Satellite was the first Australian satellite, named after its designer. WRESAT was launched on 29 November 1967 using a modified American Redstone rocket with two upper stages known as a Sparta from the ...
, on 29 November 1967.
Sparta used a surplus American
Redstone as its first stage, an
Antares-2 as a second stage, and a BE-3 as a third stage. Several Spartas were launched from 1966–67 from
Woomera Test Range
The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a di ...
in
Woomera, South Australia
Woomera, unofficially Woomera village, refers to the domestic area of RAAF Base Woomera. Woomera village has always been a Defence-owned and operated facility. The village is located on the traditional lands of the Kokatha people in the Far ...
as part of a joint United States–United Kingdom–Australian research program aimed at understanding re-entry phenomena, and the U.S. donated a spare for the scientific satellite launch into
polar orbit
A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of abo ...
.
The first stage was recovered from the Simpson Desert in 1990 after being found in searches by explorer
Dick Smith the previous year.
References
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Space launch vehicles of the United States
Sounding rockets
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