FAILURE TO ORBIT

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32395, 7 September 1970, Page 15

FAILURE TO ORBIT

U.K.-Australian Satellite (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) CANBERRA, Sept 6. An attempt to launch a British satellite into orbit from the Woomera rocket range failed.

All three stages of the British Black Arrow rocket ignited, but the total velocity achieved was not sufficient to place the payload, including the 1801 b satellite, into orbit A detailed analysis of the flight results is in progress and might take several days. A spokesman for the Bri-tish-Australian project released only a brief official statement, that the rocket was fired this morning. If successfully launched, the 1801 b satellite would have made Britain the sixth nation to put an investigatory satellite into an Earth orbit The 30in diameter satellite was to have been put into a near polar orbit between 220 and 620 miles above the Earth to relay information about the upper atmosphere. Today’s abortive flight was the third launching of a Black Arrow from Woomera. The first—in June last year—failed because of a systems failure but a dummy payload was successfully put into orbit in March this year.