The most remarkable story of all the innovative projects built and designed on the Isle of Wight is that of the Black Knight and Black Arrow space rockets. Both were built in East Cowes and initially tested at The Needles Battery. Both rockets were successful. However, both projects were terminated by the Governments of the day. Despite neither project being put to military or commercial use, the East Cowes-built Black Arrow was the 1st and only all-British space achievement – successfully launching the Prospero satellite into orbit over half a century ago. Amazingly, Prospero still orbits the Earth. The Black Knight was the United Kingdom’s 1st space launcher. It was designed by Martin Brennan, Saunders Roe’s chief designer from October 1953 to March 1959.
During the early 1950s, the UK government identified the need to develop its own ballistic missiles, due to advances being made by the Soviet Union and the United States. This was critical for nuclear deterrence, to replace free-fall nuclear bombs reliance on complex and costly aircraft. In 1955, Saunders Roe was awarded the contract for the Black Knight. The Isle of Wight-based company was responsible for its design, manufacture and testing. 25 Black Knights were built, of which 22 were successfully launched. The 1st test run was performed at High Down on the Island in 1957. The Black Knight project was shelved in 1960 after the Treasury refused further funding, despite not a single failure from any of the rockets launched. However, the work on the Black Knight led to the satellite carrier rocket project: the Black Arrow, initially developed by Saunders Roe and continued after the merger with Westland Aircraft.
The 1st order for the Black Arrow was made in 1964. Its chief design engineer was Ray Wheeler from East Cowes. The 1st and 2nd stages of the rocket were both built and tested on the Island. 4 Black Arrows were launched between 1969 and 1971 from Woomera in Australia. The maiden flight was unsuccessful due to an electrical fault. The 2nd launch was judged a success. The 3rd flight was Britain’s first-ever attempt to launch a satellite. However, the rocket failed to reach orbit. On 28th October 1971, the 4th launch successfully orbited the satellite Prospero. The United Kingdom had become only the 6th nation to place a satellite into orbit using its own rocket after the Soviet Union (1957), the United States (1958), France (1965), and Japan and China (1970).
However, the jubilation over the successful satellite launch of Prospero was short-lived. 3 months earlier, the Government had abandoned the Black Knight project, judging that the UK had no need for an independent space research programme. Prospero’s tape recorders stopped working in 1973. It was officially deactivated in 1996, but it has been turned on since then on its anniversary. Its radio transmissions were heard in 2004 and broadcast on the BBC programme Coast. Prospero will continue to orbit the Earth until approximately 2070. It can be observed through binoculars at perigee (the lowest point of its orbit, 332 miles above earth).
David L Williams in his book Made on the Isle of Wight quoted a couple of experts on the decision to abandon the space programme:
“The UK remains the only country to have successfully developed then abandoned a satellite launch capability.” “Inexplicably, despite foreseeing the amount of demand there would be for satellite technology, the government decided to stop all research into this extremely profitable business.”
In 1972, what was then known as British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was contracted to build 12 Falstaff rockets as part of the Polaris nuclear weapons programme for the Ministry of Defence. 6 were launched successfully. However, little is known of the Falstaff rockets as much of the relevant information is still classified. The Australian government was not in favour of nuclear weapons, and details of the testing in Woomera had the potential to cause embarrassment. In 1987, the government decided not to participate in a European Space Programme and closed the British National Space Centre. Isle of Wight participation in space projects ended in that year.
David L Williams wrote:
“The UK’s space programme – essentially Saunders-Roe and BHC’s – was the most efficient in the world with an over 92% success rate in rocket launches. “The damage inflicted on industry, quite apart from the wasted money, by repeated government cancellations of high-profile cutting-edge research and development programmes requires little imagination to appreciate – not only the loss to the country of valuable technological expertise in markets that have since become major revenue earners but also the huge levels of redundancy among the local workforce.”
In the next edition of Made on the Isle of Wight we shall look at the 19th-century brigantine Waterwitch, which first defeated all competition in racing was then purchased by the Admiralty to combat the slave trade in West Africa.
