The Black Arrow project from which Prospero was born was cancelled shortly after the launch, making the X-3 the only successful mission fielded by the program (X-2 failed to achieve orbit due to an early shut-down of the stage 2 rocket). Prospero wasn’t the first satellite fielded by the United Kingdom–that credit goes to the Ariel 1 satellite launched atop a Thor DM-19 Delta rocket by the United States from Cape Canaveral on April 26 th, 1962-but Prospero was notable as part of a program cut short in its early stages. Launched atop a 3-stage Black Arrow R3 rocket on October 28 th, 1971 from the Woomera launch station in the Australian outback, Prospero (sometimes also referred to simply as the X-3) was designed to test key communications satellite technologies. The United Kingdom’s first and only successful space launch using a UK-built rocket is still visible in low Earth orbit today, if you know exact where and how to look for it. A relic of the early Space Age turns 44 years old this week.
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