&sq=&lang=&file=File:Black_Knight_Rocket_Edinburgh.JPG) Black Knight BK02 | |
| Function | Vehicle for re-entry studies |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Saunders-Roe |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Size | |
| Height | 10.2 - 11.6 m |
| Diameter | 0.91 m |
| Mass | 12,500–14,200 lb |
| Stages | 1 - 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to 800 km (Sub-orbital | 115 kg |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LA-5, Woomera |
| Total launches | 22 |
| Success(es) | 22 |
| First flight | 7 September 1958 |
| Last flight | 25 November 1965 |
| First stage - Black Knight | |
| Engines | Initially 4 chamber Gamma 201, later 4 chamber Gamma 301 engine. |
| Thrust | from 15,600 to 21,600 lbf depending on version. |
| Burn time | 120-145 seconds depending on version |
| Propellant | RP-1/HTP |
| Second stage (Optional) Cuckoo | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | 8,200 lbf |
| Specific impulse | 213 seconds |
| Burn time | 10 seconds |
| Propellant | Solid |
Black Knight was a British research ballistic missile, originally developed to test and verify the design of a re-entry vehicle for the Blue Streak missile. It is the United Kingdom's first indigenous expendable launch project.
Design work on what would become the Black Knight launch vehicle commenced in 1955, being performed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) and British manufacturer Saunders-Roe. Saunders-Roe was the principal manufacturer for the Black Knight at its facility on the Isle of Wight. On 7 September 1958, the first Black Knight was launched at Woomera in Australia. Between 1958 and 1965, a total of 22 launch vehicles were fired, none of which having suffered any major failures.[1] After 22 launches, the Black Knight programme came to a close.
The success of the Black Knight as a cheap and successful test vehicle led to many studies being performed into further derivatives of the vehicle, including its adaption to serve as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and as a launch vehicle, including one proposal, which was based on the Blue Streak missile and the Black Knight, known as the Black Prince. Technology and experience gained on the Black Knight programme would contribute to the subsequent Black Arrow expendable launch vehicle programme.[2][3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
hill 188was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hill, C. N. (2012). A Vertical Empire - History of the British Rocketry Programme (PDF). Imperial College Press. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-1-84816-795-7.
- ^ Laycock, Stuart; Laycock, Philip (2005). Unexpected Britain. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 52. ISBN 1-44563-284-5.