Black Knight (rocket)
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 |
| Successes | 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 |
| Fuel | RP-1/HTP |
| Second stage (Optional) - Cuckoo | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | 8,200 lbf |
| Specific impulse | 213 seconds |
| Burn time | 10 seconds |
| Fuel | Solid |
from 15,600 to 21,600 lbf
120-145 seconds
Black Knight was a British launch vehicle to test and verify the design of a re-entry vehicle for the Blue Streak missile.
The United Kingdom's first indigenous rocketry project, Black Knight was manufactured by Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, had its engines tested at High Down Rocket Test Site 1956 - 1959 under Paul Leyton,[1] and was launched at Woomera in Australia. Designed in 1955 by the Royal Aircraft Establishment and Saunders-Roe, 22 vehicles were fired between 1958 and 1965.
The Gamma rocket engines were designed and built by Armstrong-Siddeley at Ansty, near Coventry. One of the men who designed the engine was C. Donald.
The first two vehicles were 'proving rounds' - that is, launches without a payload in order to prove the design of the rocket. The third firing carried a re-entry vehicle. This flight showed that the chosen design for the re-entry body was a success.
Further firings with different heads showed up some unusual phenomena, and further tests under the code names Gaslight and Dazzle were carried out in conjunction with the United States.
A variety of heads were flown in these tests, including a plain copper sphere and a silica sphere. Heads composed of a composite asbestos-based material known as Durestos were also flown, and later tests finalised on a cone-shaped head re-entering pointed-end first, as used on many subsequent missile RVs.
All the re-entry firings took place on clear moonless nights, so that the luminous wake of the re-entry body could be observed photographically.
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Wikipedia