It’s one of those funny little facts that not many people know. The UK used to have a government funded satellite launcher program and we tested rockets on the Isle of Wight.
And this Friday marked 40 years since Prospero, the only British built satellite to launch on a British built rocket began it’s adventure on space. So I (along with several otheer people) went for a bit of an adventure with some fellow space geeks to the it’s birth place..
The Black Knight program was very basic, a stumbling into the world of space exploration compared to the work of some of our American cousins and it was cancelled almost immediately after Prospero completed it’s first orbit but for many it was the start of a long career in various aerospace industries. And if you want to hear their thoughts listen below…
This will be start of a series of posts about the secret UK space industry, as i’m just about to start working on a radio documentary all about it. So if you thought space is only about NASA and Space Shuttles, prepare to be proved wrong.
Dearlove on Space 