What Does Shakespeare and a Lipstick Rocket Have in Common? | Black Arrow
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- The UK's Black Arrow and Prospero Program. Colossal failure?
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Image Credits: IWM, BBC
Music Credit: Marek Poledna
The UK has that very particular and unique combination of both having scientists and engineers capable of independently building a functional launch vehicle during the 1960s, whilst having a government so profoundly incompetent as to decide to cancel this endeavour on the dawn of it's success.
At least in part to fund development of the (failed) Concord.
@@moehoward01 and to donate the rocket technology to France for use by Arianespace, a part of the cancelation farce of Black Arrow that wasn't mentioned here.
The British still make satellites and the Prospero satellite was launched from AUS not UK
This is what happen when you have some rulers who want to brag but not pay.
Not much has changed in 50 years has it!
It's kinda ironic that the UK's ballistic missile and space programs are more well known here in Australia where most of the testing was done than in the UK itself, most Australians between the ages of 40 and 60 were taught about it in schools back in the day.
Lowkey way of us telling you that you guys are still our penal colony. KimJongUn does something similar.
Isn't that humiliating?
And now we have our own space agency
I'm a 50 year old brit with a long time passion for all things space and this is the first I have ever heard of this rocket!
Man I don't know why, but this story, particularly with the added purposeful use of the 'Prospero' reference, really brought some tears to my eyes. It's hard to watch as people are forced to 'give up' and sacrifice for space exploration. Glad UK is going to make a comeback. Cheers
When are we making that comeback then?
Same here. It was just so sad, felt like a personal loss
What’s this comeback then?
@@redstar956 might not be a great comeback but Virgin is a UK based company
@@Sopixil The only tax Branson pays is in... wait for it... The Virgin Islands 😆
I always get emotional over dying rovers and chunks of metal floating in space.
Same brother.
Y?
@@ENikolaev It's similar to how we all feel sad when someone dies from a TV show we watched decades ago. It's a sad reminder or our own mortality. Even a cool device that has been sending back signals from space for longer than we've been alive eventually has to stop. Geeks like me find a little sadness in that. Not too hard to understand, but yes, ultimately pointless.
@@markclowe same 😓
As do I. Even thinking about Hubble not getting its maintenance and knowing its ultimate fate, just kills me.
Nice to know I'm not the only one. I keep hoping the Webb will distract me, if they ever finally launch it.
I've been a fan of the space race since the mid 60's and I have to admit, I do not remember anything regarding Black Arrow. Thanks for sharing
Are you an actual 90 year old, watching UA-cam ???
Could have been anywhere from like 5-20 years old in 1965. So he’s probably somewhere between 61 to 76+
How about "the lipstick rocket"?
@@vivat- I have been a space race fan since the early 60s too, born 1955.
Another problem with the funding of Concorde was that the contract signed between France and the UK had a provision that said that if either country pulled out they would have to pay a significant fee. This forced them to continue the project even though the problems that made Concorde a commercial failure were known before the project was finished.
but it was same for us in France, so why we have Ariane and Kourou space port?
Concorde was amazing, though.
Concorde was a great technology, just not great economically. But the UK rocket program would eat money for decades without even the slightest prospect of becoming self-sustaining.
@@OBigDream because the program was backed up by many nations.
It was cool though.
My CDT teacher in high school had been involved at the needles test site (3:00, you can still visit the hard standing today). He would regale us with anecdotes about his time there but he was not one of nature’s storytellers. I had to rediscover the magic of this project in adult life and it was only quite some way into learning about it the second time that I paused to think “hang on a minute, this is what he was talking about all those years back!”.
The amount of homework you do to make these videos is nothing short of stellar. Good job sir!
Hahah stellar
That’s not homework.. that’s his only work!! Lol
Not only loss of a space program, but often the engineers pursue their dreams abroad working for other countries. Was reminded of this when friend went to London for a interview with Boeing. He liked the idea of moving to America.
it's been made worse with Brexit since a lot of engineers and scientists ended up at the ESA. Of course the UK is still a part of that but the additional barriers to entry might be the final nail for the dreams of those wanting to touch the stars.
This wasn't the first I'd heard of Prospero and the Black Arrow programme, but it's by far the most informative piece I've seen. And your production and delivery are really superb!
The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play and Prospero breaking his staff is often seen as Shakespeare declaring his decision to retire, the more so as it may have been Shakespeare himself playing the role. The name was very pointedly chosen but is also an obvious continuation from Arial, Prospero’s bound spirit servant. The original name, Puck, the fairy servant of Oberon, king of the fairies, was intended to send a very different message.
where can i find a breakdown of the meanings of such things, as you just mentioned.
@@magnetarattractionsno9643 The complete works of Shakespeare 😄
But compared to his other works, tempest is rather lackluster
I think the name was probably changed because it sounded too much like another word. Back in the 60s not just a single episode but an entire series was thrown off UK TV because someone used to word in question.
@@johne7100 Fuck? You can say it on the internet in 2021 lol
It would be awesome to retrieve it and put it on display. Having the mindset "we can just use other launch providers," was a lack of vision regarding the value of launching satellites. It could have added ba-billions to the GNP. Pretty sad they let it fall by the wayside. Politicians without insight or vision. Very good video.
it could also have cost billions. success can't be assumed
we're in a far better position to make it work now though, more prosperous and we have a pretty massive satellite and space production industry domestically so given our pretty decent access to open water (saves having to negotiate with other nations to fly over them) means that we really should be prioritising this program. Hell, if we're able to set up a big enough launch facility, im pretty sure the ESA would be eager to pitch in
@@thesherbet You're on the wrong side of the ocean to be launching satellites. Launching west is harder than launching east
I got to know about The Black Arrow from a rather unusual angle, I assume: The English professional wrestler Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac utilizes a corkscrew shooting star press as a finishing maneuver. It is known as the "Black Arrow" and looks very impressive. So I think he's paying homage to his homeland's achievements.
Fittingly enough, due to his high-flying style and aerial attacks, one of his nicknames used to be "The Man That Gravity Forgot".
That’s such an obscure connection that I very much doubt it’s actually the case.
I didn't even know that there are professional wrestlers outside the USA. Really thought them to be an endemic species of 'murica.
That's the first time I ever heard space flight and pro wrestling in the same place I love it thank you for that insight from Milwaukee WI USA home of Harley Davidson
@@Shadowkey392 What exactly are you doubting?
@@Shadowkey392 citation needed
You've way more than earned our subscription,. Your absolutely splendid presentations are stellar and much appreciated!!!
And he's got a great voice, unlike some of these doco channels where the dude tries to imitate a radio DJ constantly.
Thats' what we in UK are the best at - being briliant in a totally hopeless, futile and useless way
Wouldn’t call an empire useless
Norway is in the same bowlpark. Totally out there.... Best at being rich and stupid. Great video :-) Great narrator :-) Hats off, Sir.
This is a fallacy. Commonly believed because of our lazy media, but still a fallacy.
@@oh_crumpets you might call it a lot worse if you'd been on the recieving end of it....
I always thought uk as totally hopeless, futile and useless in brilliant way 😀. And history remembers them as cunning, theifs, looters, inhuman on some poor countries whom they ruled, and now preacher s of humanity. How ironic.
This wasn’t the first space program for the UK. There was an earlier joint Australia/US/UK program at Woomera in Australia which used the Sparta rocket which consisted of a modified Redstone for the first stage that developed 416,000 kilo-newtons of thrust, an Antares-2 solid fueled 2nd stage with 93 kilo-newtons, and a solid fueled BE-3 (36 kilo-newtons) There were 8 successful launches and 1 failure. The Sparta project was used for research into re-entry phenomena.
A 9th successful Sparta launch was conducted by Australia alone in 1967 in which it launched the domestically built Wresat satellite onto a polar orbit, making Australia the third country, after the US and Soviet Union to deploy a satellite from its own territory. Like Britain, Australia failed to continue this early success, and subsequent Australian satellites have been launched from American and EU launchpads.
Things are finally looking up, however, with substantial Australian investment in the Lunar Gateway project and a recent announcement that there will be an Australian built rover launched to the Moon in 2026 to collect Lunar soil and conduct experiments in extracting oxygen from Lunar sources for future human explorers and colonists as part of the Artemis program. A little known part of the recent AUKUS nuclear submarine alliance was greater cooperation in space technologies.
Wait, wasn't Asterix, the first French satellite, launched by a French Diamond rocket in 1965, making them third?
@@mrsupremegascon Sorry for the incomplete information. Australia was the third nation to launch a satellite from its own territory. It was the 7th country to launch a satellite. The French Asterix made France the 6th country to launch a satellite, but it was the third country to launch one from its own rocket. I appreciate the correction, and it seems often repeated things like "third" in this instance is more complicated than first glance :)
They should call this new rocket "the black adder".
That's a cunning plan!
What a touching story this is... and how wonderful that they are taking up the challenge once again. Great video, as I have come to expect from you - your hard work is very much appreciated!!
I was looking at wikipedia regarding the budget of ur space agency.... It's still abt $500m .... Want it to be raised..... Can u tell what led to shortage of funds during cold war era to the UK??
"It ended up disintegrating and was ultimately completely destroyed". Yes that's what disintegrating tends to do. I never heard of something disintegrating and not being destroyed.
Thank you for this post. No, I had never heard of my own countries Space Programme but our Media keep me well informed if a soap actress breaks a finger nail!
Being a Brit myself this has always been a bittersweet achievement in my eyes.
This is a great video and explanation of the Prospero and BLACK ARROW project. Thank you for helping bring it to light and the attention of many people (I have been aware of BA and X3 for a long time).
Britain also invented radar, the jet engine, the passenger jet, the CT scanner, and arguably modern computers. Only the jet engine is now part of UK industry. We have excellent engineers and totally rubbish administrators who lack any kind of foresight.
I thought Scottish engineers invented those things. Is that old chestnut of being declared British when you're successful, but Scottish, Irish, etc when you fail?
@@DM-wp9vq whittle was English not Scottish.
And then we gave it all to the Americans.
@@DM-wp9vq "Britain" Includes Scotland, England and Wales fyi.
@@leighthetwinotterflyerjone9460 you had a lot of debts to repay...
I would love more videos about lesser-known space programs! I particularly enjoyed that you found a positive ending to this story. Great video!
Thank you for this - our little corner of the space business. Also known as the lipstick rocket! It's natural to think that it was a mistake to abandon this project, but history always has to be viewed in context. And the context of the early 70s was the Britain was poor and couldn't afford such projects. And, in those days, space was very expensive and of limited use (there was nothing like the satellite usage there is today). Far better to cut our losses and pay others to launch for us. If only we had taken the same approach with things like Concorde and the APT fiasco! Nowadays it's an entirely different world, with companies and nations all round the world competing to get some of the lucrative satellite business - but that certainly wasn't the case in the 60s and 70s.
Concorde led to Airbus, which is probably the only reason the UK still has a civilian aerospace industry, so it's probably a good thing that Concorde wasn't scrapped.
Both the Concorde and the APT worked well.
Concorde was quite simply a marvel of engineering. It kept flying for decades despite the nimby army it had to face before anyone would let it land, and then the market being manipulated against it by its worried aerospace rivals.
The APT also worked well, once BREL finally got the engineering figured out. Unfortunately its image was badly tainted by BR trying to push the train into service before it was properly tested leading to bad press, and constant hostile political interference. When the APT was withdrawn later in the 80s, it was a superb performer on the rails, but by then the damage to its reputation was irrevocable.
The real lesson of all 3 projects is that the British government, regardless of party colour, are a bunch of clueless ignoramuses who know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
There was a lot more going on behind the scenes as well as money, also pressure on the UK from the USA and France to not have our own access to space, The USA even offered to launch british satellites on its rockets but later withdrew the offer. The UK was then trying to join what was then called European Economic Community(EEC) that later on became The European Union(EU), The French were very opposed to the UK joining the EEC for many reasons, the UK government were keen to appease the French in any way they could, the French wanted to have their own space program and saw the UK as a threat to it. So as part of getting France on side for the UK's entry into the EEC, Ted Heath the then Prime minister(PM) was doing as many deals as he could, giving up the Black Arrow and its tech was one such backroom deal.
@@CountScarlioni my memories are a bit different. Leaving aside the enormous development cost and the time it took to get it working properly (compare and contrast to the Italian Pendolino), even when it was working, it still had two main problems. First it made people sick because it swung so noticeably (as someone who suffers from motion sickness, this would be a deciding factor). And, secondly, because of the way the pendulum mechanism was designed, the interior space was too narrow. Like the Concorde, it was admirable engineering, but a practical and commercial failure.
@@paulhaynes8045 You do know the Pendolino tech IS the APT tech? Fiat bought the tilting mechanism patents from BREL, and then used it to develop their own tilting trains. Now the patent belongs to the French manufacturer Alstom. They at least saw through the infantile press reporting and understood the system worked. The rest is history.
The making people sick thing was solved quite easily. By neutralising all the sensation of taking corners, it was confusing some people's sense of balance. The solution was simple actually - to not lean quite as much so people could still feel some of the cornering motion. That solved the issue and Pendolinos continue to do the same.
But then, that was exactly what I meant about rushing the train to service before it was properly tested. Had BR given it another half year of test runs, they could have figured that issue out before a bunch of Fleet Street drunkards spewed their guts everywhere.
I've actually been on an APT not that long ago. There's one in a museum in Crewe that can be wandered about on freely. There's definitely no issue with lack of room. Or at least it has no less space than the modern tilting trains on the WCML today and people accept those without issue. My main criticism of them was the hideous decor.
One thing I probably should note here is that Concorde had a billion pounds sunk into it. The APT cost something like £60 million. Concorde was definitely playing in a whole different league there!
Im hooked to your content. Its mind blowing how you keep this quality always. Thank you
I've recently become very interested in rockets and them getting things into space. It would be very cool to see retrieved space artifacts like Prospero in museums.
Never even heard of this program. Thank you for presenting it to us
Waoh this seems like an exciting video! I'm eager to watch it^^
Thankyou for sharing some more piece of information with us Alex
You amaze me on how much you investigate to report on these subjects. Great job.
Remember this being cancelled by the Government, also remember the earlier cancellation of the BAC TSR2 strike aircraft which could fly at 0.9 Mach at 200 ft (61m). We were very good at developing things then throwing it all away.
Because politicians decide with no knowledge about technology. Just like Brexit.
And of course the Miles M52 supersonic jet, which would have beaten the Americans to breaking the sound barrier if we hadn't cancelled it. The famous test pilot Eric 'Winkle' Brown was all set to fly it. Miles had pioneered the thin wing and the all-moving tailplane, which are the key to controllable supersonic flight. There was an effort to share information on supersonic flight with the USA, and we shared our data, but they then refused to share theirs.
The M52 was cancelles shortly afterwards, and the Bell-X1 suddenly gained an all-moving tailplane.
In some ways the M52 would have been more capable than the X-1, as it was was going to have a jet engine with re-heat rather than a rocket, and was designed to take off under its own power. In an emergency could detach the entire cockpit section.
A scale model of the M52, powered by a rocket, later achieved Mach 1.38, which shows the fundamental design was sound.
Thanks. I had not heard of it before.
Many technologies that we pioneered are now earning others billions and raising them to levels that we can only envy. We are brilliant at pioneering. But then it the just fizzles out, leaving others to profit on our achievements. I shed tears for my motherland indeed.
1:52 do not forget the pioneers of this nation
Dr. Alex, I never knew this! I always learn something from you!!🛰️🌌🏴
Although I understand the reasons, it is truly sad
Thank you for sharing this historical story with us👍
I've watched a lot about Black Arrow, your take was pretty good. I'm already subbed but I took the extra effort and liked your video too!
What an effort...
Good narration.
Good style of representation.
Good speech, easy to understand to all
THANKS A LOT from INDIA
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thanks!!! Awesome!!!
I was lucky enough to visit the R3 rocket being displayed in William Creek SA in 2016. It was very strange, but awesome seeing this rocket in a town that doesn’t even have mobile phone reception. But a great bit of space memorabilia to see and touch in person.
"Hey boss, maybe we shouldn't launch this thing here, in case debris falls on our people."
"Good point Jenkins, we'll launch it in Australia where no one important can get hurt..."
Like the nuclear bombs...
The fall zone was in remote northern Western Australia, they sent people in there to search for aboriginal people and discovered a lost tribe. So the space race caused Australia to contact the last uncontacted ancient aboriginal tribe. Pretty cool.
@@robboinnz also not cool for the Aboriginals.
@@robboinnz they would have been better off that way 😏
like the aboriginal people everywhere. Nobody wants their country "enriched" and their people replaced but nobody is allowed to express that sentiment. It's a tragedy seeing the aboriginal people of my country looking dispossessed and their culture usurped. The same goes for blackfellas in Australia.
Lovely video! So glad for the happy ending; Thank you Alex.
Also Argentina had orbital launch capabilities, but internationals pressures from US and UK make close the program Tronador.
The Condor was intended as a military weapon, not an orbital launch vehicle. The pressure was to steer Argentina's skills to peaceful purposes with the assistance of NASA. This new direction has resulted in a series of Earth observation satellites.
Australia also had a space launch facility and discarded it. WRESAT was launched from Woomera using the last US Redstone.
I don't think launching US rockets from Australian soil is quite the same. By that standard Australia, much like Algeria and Polynesia, had nukes too.
@@passantNL It says "orbital launch", not "rocket construction".
@@passantNL Don't think the US ever launched a nuclear missile from Australia.
@@berekhalfhand4775 The British tested their first nuclear weapons in Australia. Just like the French tested theirs in Algeria and Polynesia.
@@passantNL It was a US made rocket, but the launching authority, staff, & payload was all Australian.
The Brit stuff was launched by a combination of Australian & British crews.
Excellent report. The changes and opportunities that are opening up in the UK at the moment are amazing.
I watched a documentary about black arrow and the British space program many years ago and was saddened by the fact they canned the program for cost reasons and even sold some of their developments to the US. But I’m really excited now that the government has renewed their focus on space. Companies like Skyrora and especially Reaction Engines have got me extremely excited and looking forward to the progress to come over the coming years and decades.
The sun has long set on the British Empire.
Limeyshould forget about any space program.
Leave ito the big boys - US.
If theyvant something, pay the US to do it.
@@robertgift Nah. Everyone should research space technology. The more minds working the faster we will find ways to cut costs and improve the size of what we can put up
Gotta love reaction engines really hope it's a success.
Reaction Engines AKA Alan Bond has been rambling on about his Sabre engines for 50 years. And where is one Sabre engine in use currently? *ONE* Sabre engine, in flight - ZERO!
Great Video as usual. I am lucky to live on the Isle Of Wight and I have visited the now abandoned rocket test site with my son many times. Kind of sad feeling yet awe inspiring thinking about the work that went on. That large semi circle of concrete is not far, maybe 5 to 10 minutes walk away around the corner from the Needles
The stories of Australia and the UK giving up their respective space efforts after launching a satellite each (WRESAT and Prospero) are quite sad. Had they kept on going, chances are they could've gotten a foothold in the commercial launch market.
Being 98 years old, my heart is still young thinking space exploration
It may be the only example of going backwards in the space age -- but not the only time a nation decided to play it safe and turn its back on the challenges of an uncertain future and instead "take care of the problems at home first." Just like so many want to do now.
Vision has proved more saving than clinging to the past & solving immediate problems first ever has.
That's pretty cool, I had an idea about the military side but not a clue about Black Arrow, thank you fantastic work.
This reminds me of my own country, Canada, and their eventual gutting of their aviation industry.
Its an unintended -mockery- irony that the Black Arrow and the Avro Arrow bear the same name.
@@Duomaxwell02M USA USA USA
You can see a whole Black Arrow rocket in the science museum in London. It's awesome.
You forgot about the Top Gear space shuttle!
I mean that rocket got real close to orbit, just didn't quite make it ;)
@@astrumspace Thanks for giving us quality, informative, and thought provoking content. You're the man Alex. 👍
It's bad enough that the first automobile in space is Elon Musks' Tesla Roadster. Had Top Gear succeeded I would have had to commit suicide knowing there was a Robin Reliant orbiting this planet. That thing is literally the European version of the Chevy Corvair or the Ford Edsel.
@@johnallen9439 That Robin still has the honor of being the first passenger car to be launched on a rocket. Wouldn't it have been amazing if that stunt had worked? Orbit? No. Exciting - definitely.
I was present at all the Black Arrow launches. I worked as a chemist as part of the launch support team. I remember the first launch in particular, watching the rocket being destroyed by the break-up system and then counting the time it took for the sound of the explosion to arrive.
Cool ⚡
If they are going to bring the satellite back down it needs to be by a retrieval system called Ariel 😁
That can casy do by space shuttle.
@@alexlo7708 you do realize there isn't a single space shuttle in service at NASA anymore, right?
Unless I'm missing something from other space agencies... not sure if Russia still has their own shuttles, but probably not
Or take it out with a missile called "Leman Russ". 40K fans will understand.
@@RadeticDaniel Both the US and (the old Soviet Union now) Russia canceled their respective Space Shuttle programs years ago. But thanks to private industry, the New Space Race, they're starting to make a comeback. There's Sierra Nevada's _Dream Chaser,_ and the UK is developing something called SkyLon.
@@STSWB5SG1FAN oh, neat!
Thanks for the info \o
This information was never taught in schools here in Australia, even the participation of Australia and it being launched from Australia. Even now to this day this information isn't taught in schools, high schools or university. Thank you for your video and upload. Best wishes and regards from an Aussie.
Australia gained lots of technical knowledge and experience from the UK rocket programs. Being at the height of the cold war, it would be surprising if any non-military people were privy to it. Universities would surely impart the history and legacy of this venture to aerospace science students, especially since the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018.
The British spent a decade designing, building, and flight testing the very unique Fairey Rotodyne VTOL passenger plane -- an autogyro. It was successfully flying between London and Paris carrying VIPs. American airline companies were interested in buying a slightly larger and quieter version. Then the British government forced the Fairey and Leyland aircraft companies to merge and Leyland canceled the Fairey Rotodyne program so it could build more helicopters. All prototypes and components of the brilliant Fairey Rotodyne were ordered destroyed. None were saved even for museum display. No VTOL aircraft has since been built that could equal it's abilities. How sad is that? ☹️. It happened in the 1950s. I'm not British -- so I can only imagine what could have been the rationale for such a stupid decision.
The country was bankrupt, budget cuts for anything that wasn't jets or nukes was not an option
Yes, such a shame.
Britain had many great aerospace ideas under development which were tragically cancelled. Almost like they self-sabotaged...
But yea, they were in financial troubles during the post-war years.
I live on the Isle of Wight, if you want to visit the rocket research area it's called the New Battery as is by the Needles on the west tip of the Island. The Old Battery is military defence and run by the National Trust, and there's an entrance fee, the New Battery is open and free to look around
Hello Alex love your voice buddy
That is a great story that I have never heard before. Thank you.
Another tragedy: a stunning loss of British ship building capacity and capability. The British used to build LOTS of ships - now, not so much.
Excellent story and accomplishment. Thanks for sharing.
My country Brazil's history with rockets are very similar. Our rocket and launch platform got sabotaged 2003 just before our orbital class launch. After that we abandoned our space program and corrupts politicians made agreements with USA that restricts rocket development w/o anything in return. ( I wonder why)
A Growing number of countries payed off, and Concorde suddenly found metal.........
And now we see the US Senate and therefore NASA has lost the glamour days, trusting to private enterprise to keep the myth flying, using the Old space industry to subside their voting states. Look up, we have the ISS, it comes round regularly,
Like Clockwork. Decade by Decade.
The US restrictions on Brazil were related to military ballistic missiles, and the co-operations with China, Russia, and Iraq. Those are some good friends! At any rate, it's more complicated then that. Space is expensive. Brazil probably can't afford it. AEB is part of the ISS though.
That's unfortunate, I didn't know that about Brazil. An equatorial launch site in a large stable country would have been an amazing asset for the world. Brazil could have an amazing spaceport.
@@hawkdsl that's kinda of Truth China tried a technological cooperation agreement on space industry with Brazil at the time cuz we were far ahead. But even tho to agree to dispose of such technology and even create laws on our constitution that won't allow ourselves to develop it in the future is "Sun Tzu" art of war at its best. Brazil's defeated even before fighting. Very similar stuff happened with our nuke days before the bomb test. About Iraq I risk to say the majority in Brazil still thinks the US invasion was criminal. Iraq and Brazil had very good relations at the time. Brazil's PETROBRAS was the one ho dug Iraq oil rigs, in exchange Sadan sold oil to us w/o Dólar as money. (Wich could be one of many reasons for the invasion)
I loved this video so much. You have such a great way of mixing sentiment with education.
New Zealand have nearly *TEN* rockets in their factory production line at any one time - *NEW ZEALAND*!!!
Well NZ is part of the Commonwealt so crown territory
Yes, bravo to our cousins across the ditch!
(Although, aren't those rockets being made and launched in the US now? I'm happy to be corrected though 😊)
What a fantastic video. This is what youtube is all about for me.
Yes very sad! So much technology, investment and engineering capabilities sold down the river!
I’d never seen the UK space agency’s logo before you showed it at 9:22. It’s awesome. Finding an arrow inside the UK flag like the arrow inside of the FedEx logo.
Emphasis on cleaning up the satellite belt and debrit needs to be more of a priority
I agree! I think if you put something up there, you need to have a way to de-orbit it at the end of its lifetime. It's getting pretty crowded up there in some orbits.
I had the great good fortune to visit Woomera Village South Australia in 2016.
There is a museum there that preserves the history of Woomera Range complex, It includes display of rockets, rocket parts, airplanes and equipment used at the Range. As mentioned, this is the launch location of the test launches of the Black Arrow, affectionately known locally as the "lipstick" rocket.
It is an out-of-the-way place to visit. That said, the entire Australian continent is difficult to visit these days. When travel opens up worldwide in the future, I would heartily suggest Woomera, SA as a stopping point in a visit Down Under.
Cool, new vid
I hope they do bring it home, it's sad up there all on it's own......cheers.
Isn't the UK Currently working on a new launch complex? I want to say near Cornwall but I might be mixing things up there. The Angry Astronaut recently did a vid about it
Yep! In Scotland and Cornwall
Well, one consolation. The U.K. produced some of the greatest science fiction ever written. And let's not forget all the cheesy Sify TV shows that were worldwide rages back in the 70's. Long Live the Tardis and Dr. Who!
Great documentaries. Thanks
I remember reading that the cancellation of the Black Arrow program also had an ugly political component. Britain wanted to join the EEC (European Economic Community), but after two failed applications to join, it became clear that Britain would need French support. The French didn't want a British space program competing with what would become their Ariane rocket series, so they demanded that Britain cancel the Black Arrow program as a precondition for Britain's being allowed to join the EEC.
There's never been any linkage made of that sort that I've heard of. Far more likely to be the Americans protecting their own industries, and they controlled the UK's purse strings.
The only reason the UK joined the EEC was the 180° about face by Harold Macmillan, then Prime Minister. Edward Heath was the only member of the Cabinet at the time who was wholeheartedly behind the project, and he was relatively junior. Macmillan's reason for switching is revealed by a recently released memorandum, personally signed. "We have to be inside, to stop the French inadvertently giving the Germans control of Europe, something we fought two world wars to prevent". I paraphrase slightly.
Never letting fact's get in the way of anti EU rants has got the UK where it is today - wearing a dunce cap while knee deep in raw sewage.
Sorry but that can't be right. The UK joined the EEC in 1961, whereas the development of Ariane 1/L3S started in 1973, and its first flight was in 1979. And before Ariane 1 there was the Europa rocket program, which the UK built the first stage (called Blue Streak) for. Europa even was a France-UK initiative initially, before other European nations joined the program.
@@Syniurge The "Curious Droid" video refers to the "Common Market", not to the "EEC". Mea culpa: The original reference to the EEC was based on my flawed recollection of the Curious Droid video, which was posted four years ago.
@@Syniurge Sorry, that's not right either! Out by a decade! The project towards European unity now known as the European Union (EU) has gone under various names over the years and has involved the development and co-ordination of several different European institutions since the end of World War 2. The scope for confusion is great!
After several abortive attempts to join the project, the UK got seriously involved in 1970 under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. This led to the UK actually becoming a member in January 1973. The period of maximum likelihood for background deals with the French - who had previously blocked British (and Irish) membership, was thus precisely the early 1970s.
In 1975 the Labour government of Harold Wilson held the UK's first referendum allowing the public to give their decision on the topic (there have been only two). The question asked of the electorate was whether they wanted to stay in something referred to in all the literature and debates as the Common Market, or sometimes the European Common Market, or sometimes just Europe. The public voted yes.
This period of the early 70s was when key decisions about the future of independent UK space efforts and the independent nuclear deterrent, relations with the US and Europe were all being taken. Britain was also in really terrible economic shape, which was a background motive for wanting to join the Common Market (Europe), but also the reason for Heath's fall following his personal triumph in getting us in.
It's not at all surprising that a whole lot of complicated British projects were cancelled - sometimes in retrospect unwisely, as these were desperate times. Whether we'll ever know of all the agreements made secretly with the US and France is a moot point, along with the extent to which they were actually adhered to by the various parties.
I recently watched a JPL video on Voyager 2 to Uranus and Neptune with the first 15 minutes covering the space shuttle. NASA JPL - The Footsteps of Voyager - UA-cam
I knew at the time the U.S. was focusing on the shuttle but didn't remember they had a mandate and had gotten rid of their rockets. This was despite the low-orbit shuttle being unsuitable for interplanetary space missions. With the explosion of Challenger grounding the fleet, this meant there was no alternative for launches ready.
Failure doesn't mean that you're a looser , it means that you haven't succeeded yet.
Prospero to come home - a stunning concept
Such a waste. Good to see this story being told
Curious Droid also did a good video on it. Pointing out the shoestring budget making a successful launcher and the special relationship rearing it's ugly head again (namely US advising UK that they would launch satellites for free then cancelling that offer when the Black Arrow was cancelled)
Haha take that to your lizard Queen you tea sipping Dental Holocaust.
America F yeah🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💥
this is beautiful and emotional, thanks! and inspiring too!
Why our gov doesn't suppport Branson if only for promotion. He's not Musk but shows the correct enthusiastic attitude and should be encouraged.
Considering what an outright ars*hol* Musk is, "He's not Musk" should be considered a compliment
Politics.
Branson's a Labour man and was a Labour party donor. Goes without saying that the nicest thing the Tories could wish on him is an early death.
To be fair, Branson did pretty well out of the government during the privatisation frenzy of the 90s and 00s.
cause branson is a joke
Wow, that was a really emotional story
I've never been the second person to view a video. Lucky day
sorry i was second so u were third
You must live very sad and uneventful lives if this is a notable event for you to comment about. Sorry ☹️. But keep up the good effort. To each their own. Someday one of you could be #1 🥳🎖️
@@rodanderson8490 lol. Well said. 👍
We Australians were offered the British aerospace tech which was stationed at Woomera. The Prime Minister Menzies rejected the offer of being the third nation to have space capabilities. Turns out he rejected out of public pressure. Soon SpaceX satellites will earn more than Australia's coal industry - and one day no-one will buy coal anymore. And then there's SpaceX rocket launches, including point-to-point. There's a goal mine in space, yet still you hear people like Prince William say space money should be spent helping the poor - that's the thinking that has helped make Britain a lot poorer.
No, the "Royal" coffers would have been diminished had the project not been cancelled. I can only imagine the ways the UK has been held back by it's monarchy.
You're wrong. The monarchy ironically would support this and more projects. If they only had more power
Prince Charles if he ever become king would be brilliant for renewable and space and earth conversation. He's kinda obsessed with housing development and having good design
It's the civil service who doesn't believe in long term planning and MPs. Royalty linked project's don't get cancelled
I only bloody hope the royals support British space activity. Queen Elizabeth spaceplane name it whatever if that gets it government funding
Rockets were a big thing back then... the type with Death in the nosecone. So maybe that's why I recall The Cuban Missile Crisis but not Prospero. Good content from Astrum. Thank you.
fact is they just didnt need their own launch capabilities when they could just work more with other organizations.
They missed the vision of it being a huge, huge business...worth billions.
Lots of rocket information at Woomera in S.A. especially regarding the Black Arrow rockets and many many more.
The Americans also had a base located nearby called Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar
Also British government be like “ why should we spend money and time on rockets when we can pay the poor Yanks for this…
We paid Australia for it the first time.
And you will probably be paying a South African in the future. Ex-South African, at least.
@@Egilhelmson So British descent lol.
@@PM-qi4mh You owed us for the mess you made during your Nuclear weapon tests!
Thanks for this Alex, now that you have mentioned it I do recall said rocket. GB :)
What about the only country to have lunar capabilities and discard them??😉
oooooo
One of them, or model, or never flown example used to hang in the rocketry section of the Science Museum in London. Goosebumps with it's design or inspiration living on in that new launch firm.
There's many good things about Britain. This isn't one of them lol.
The rocket itself was great. The cancellation of it was the problem.
@Connor O'Boyle jesus christ
@Kelly Smunt more like tekken back are cuntry!! 😂😂😜😜🍷🐱🎵😊🍇😭🇧🇻
@@astrumspace definitely
I actually heard about the Black Arrow previously because it was in a mobile game known as Space Agency which was a great game on the IOS App Store I used to play as a kid on my IPod Touch! :)
"Best approach for a poor child would be to frugally save all the money and never invest any of it on themselves, never getting clothes or education and then blissfully die naked under a bridge on a pile of small change"
Margaret Thatcher maybe I mean probably don't you think so?
I had no idea about Prospero. As and Indian, it actually makes me prouder of ISRO's achievements.
LOL
*When it comes to the world of investing, most people don't know where to start. Fortunately, great investors of the past and present can provide us with guidance....*
Most intelligent words I've heard
Crypto is the new gold
I wanted to trade Crypto but got discouraged by the fluctuations in price
@@kingstonleo2429 That won't bother you if you trade with a professional like Expert Mason Jayden.
I heard that his strategies are really good
I said 100 times and I'll say it again, never stop uploading. Ure narrative is top tier