Black Arrow
· built by Royal Aircraft Establishment
· maiden flight 1969-06-27
Profile data last updated: 2026-08-29T15:37:07.354998+00:00 | 7531-10-17
Black Arrow was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971. Its final flight was the first and only successful orbital launch to be conducted by the United Kingdom, and placed the Prospero satellite into low Earth orbit.
Specifications
13.0 mLength
2.0 mDiameter
18 tLaunch mass
3Stages
256 kNLiftoff thrust
Payload Capacity
135 kgTo LEO
Lifetime Launch Record
As reported by Launch Library 2 across this rocket's entire history, not just the launches tracked on this site.
2Total launches
1Successful
1Failed
0Upcoming
Launches Tracked on This Site
2In our archive
50.0%Success rate
Sep 02, 1970 00:34 UTCEarliest tracked
Oct 28, 1971 04:09 UTCMost recent
| Mission | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Black Arrow | Prospero | Oct 28, 1971 04:09 UTC | Success |
| Black Arrow | X-2 | Sep 02, 1970 00:34 UTC | Failure |