The ''Prospero''
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
, also known as the X-3, was launched by the United Kingdom in 1971. It was designed to undertake a series of experiments to study the effects of the
space environment on
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
s and remained operational until 1973, after which it was contacted annually for over 25 years.
Although ''Prospero'' was the first British satellite to have been launched successfully by a British rocket,
Black Arrow
Black Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971, all launched from the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. Its final fl ...
; the first British satellite placed in orbit was ''
Ariel 1
Ariel 1 (also known as UK-1 and S-55), was the first British satellite, and the first satellite in the Ariel programme. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the United Stat ...
'', launched in April 1962 on a US rocket.
Construction
''Prospero'' was built by the
Royal Aircraft Establishment in
Farnborough.
Initially called
Puck,
it was designed to conduct experiments to test the technologies necessary for communication satellites. Two experimental solar cells setups were tested. One was a test of a lightweight cell and mounting.
[ The other was an attempt to replace the standard fused silica cover of solar cells with a cerium oxide-based cover.][ Designs for telemetry and power systems were also tested. It also carried a micrometeoroid detector, to measure the presence of very small particles.]Black Arrow
Black Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971, all launched from the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. Its final fl ...
programme, the development team decided to continue with the project but renamed the satellite Prospero
Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to se ...
when it was announced it would be the last launch attempt using a British rocket.
Launch
''Prospero'' was launched at 04:09 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...
on 28 October 1971, from Launch Area 5B (LA-5B) at 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 ...
, on a Black Arrow
Black Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971, all launched from the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. Its final fl ...
rocket, making Britain the sixth nation to place a satellite into orbit using a domestically developed carrier rocket
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and syste ...
. The Black Arrow's final stage Waxwing rocket also entered orbit, "rather too enthusiastically", as it continued to thrust after separation and collided with ''Prospero'', detaching one of the satellite's four radio antennae.
Operations
The satellite was operated from R.A.E Lasham. For the satellite's early orbits additional reporting was provided by the European Space Research Organisation
The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...
's ESTRACK
The European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) network consists of a number of ground-based space-tracking stations belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), and operated by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. The station ...
system.[ In regular operation real time data support was provided by a ]Science Research Council
The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biotechnology and bi ...
station at Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...
in the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
.[
]
Results
The lightweight solar cell design was found to be successful.[ The cerium oxide cover was not, with the solar cell using it showing an increased rate of degradation.]
Status
''Prospero''s tape recorders stopped working in 1973. As was noted in an episode of the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, radio transmissions from ''Prospero'' could still be heard on 137.560 MHz in 2004, though the signals used in the episode would actually come from an
satellite, rather than ''Prospero'' (as the later Orbcomm used the same 137.560 MHz frequency since ''Prospero'' was considered no longer active). ''Prospero'' had officially been deactivated in 1996, when the UK's
but the satellite had been turned on in past years on its anniversary. It is in a
and is not expected to decay until about 2070, almost 100 years after its launch.