Prospero

retired

Science ExplorationLEOCOSPAR 1971-093ALaunched 10/28/1971

Admin Edit

Mission & Launch

Launch Mission: X-3
Launch Vehicle: Black Arrow
Launch Date: 10/28/1971
Last Contact: 1/1/1989

Orbit & Mass

Orbit Class: LEO
Altitude: 1,062.5 km
Inclination: 82.06 deg
Dry Mass: 66 kg
Total Mass: 66 kg

Payload Classification

Mission Type: Science Exploration
Payload Category: SCI
Payload Class: C

Organizations

Operator: Royal Aircraft Establishment
Manufacturer: BAE Systems

Registry

COSPAR ID: 1971-093A
UN Registration: A/AC.105/INF.240

Track

Mentions

3

All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.

The satellite Prospero was placed into orbit by the Black Arrow R3 launch.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.2Sep 30, 2024Isle of Wight aerospace: flying boats, rocket interceptors, hovercraft, and launch vehicles (part 2)

The 14 defunct U.K.-linked spacecraft in LEO include X-3 Prospero, its Waxwing upper stage, X-4 Miranda, UoSAT 3, UoSAT 4, UoSAT 5, UoSAT 12, SNAP-1, UK-DMC, Topsat, UKube-1, TDS-1, UCLSat, and RemoveDebris.

GeneralValue 4.0Oct 26, 2021UK funds studies to remove two spacecraft from LEO

The Prospero satellite was built in Farnborough, United Kingdom and launched from Woomera, South Australia in the 1970s.

CapabilityPlanValue 3.5Feb 24, 2021Space Bridge’ across the world will help UK and Australia get ahead in global space race