Today I received a phone call from my brother in the UK. After a long day of work, he had switched on BBC TV for some light entertainment – and there I showed up on screen, holding up an antenna to try to listen for an old satellite! It was a repeat of the Coast Series 2, highlighting UK coast-related activities, places and history. The Isle of Wight, where my activity was filmed, used to be the home of the Black Arrow launcher development and test. This launcher successfully launched the Prospero satellite into orbit from Woomera, just after the programme was cancelled by the UK government. It gave the rocket a 100% satellite launch record though! One of the last actual rockets is still on display in the Science Museum in London, awaiting someone to rescue it, fix it up and send it on its way to space!
The museum at the old lighthouse and fortifications on the Isle of Wight still has some fading pictures and a few satellite and rocket scale models on display. Maybe the BBC programme will cause enough excitement to have a UK launcher again. For the moment it is either the Ariane, Russian, or US rockets, placing the UK at a disadvantage.
The same is true for where I live now, on another coast: the Pacific one, near Vancouver. Canada doesn’t have its own launcher either, but at least there are a few space projects happening.
Up we Go.
Tags: Ariane, BBC, Black Arrow, Coast, Isle of Wight, launch, Prospero, rocket, satellite, space
October 10, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Yes it was quite a shock after a days long work, but at least it gave me a reason to phone.