Falstaff (rocket)

For other uses, see Falstaff (disambiguation).

Falstaff was a British sounding rocket used during the 1970s as part of the Chevaline programme to improve the penetrability of the Polaris nuclear missile. It was the largest UK rocket with a solid booster ever launched.

Falstaff

Function	Research rocket
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Size
Height	5.3 m (17 ft)
Diameter	92 cm (36 in)
Mass	5,090 kilograms (11,220 lb)
Stages	1
Capacity
Payload to {{{to}}}
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Woomera Test Range
Total launches	8
Success(es)	7
Failure(s)	1
First flight	1 October 1969
Last flight	4 April 1979
Carries passengers or cargo	Penetration Aids Carrier (PAC)
stage
Maximum thrust	240 kilonewtons (54,000 lbf)
Burn time	37 seconds

Polaris

The Falstaff was part of the Chevaline programme to improve the Polaris programme.^[1][2][3] The Penetration Aids Carrier (PAC) was capable of maneuvering a Falstaff rocket and dispensing missiles.^[2] According to John Pitfield, the PAC was launched in 1969, 1975, 1976 and 1978.^[2]

Since the Australian government at the time was not in favour of nuclear weapons, the testing of the Falstaff vehicles on Australian soil had the potential to cause embarrassment. The details of over 4000 launches from the Woomera Range are still not fully released.^[2]

Before the revelation that the Falstaff rockets were part of a nuclear program, anti-nuclear campaigners in Australia had believed that testing ended in 1963.^[1][2]

Design

The Falstaff with the Stonechat Mk 2 booster was 5.3 m (17 ft) long and had a diameter of 92 cm (36 in).^[4] It weighed 5.09 tonnes (5.01 long tons; 5.61 short tons) of which 4.34 tonnes (4.27 long tons; 4.78 short tons) was solid propellant.^[5] It delivered an average thrust of 240 kilonewtons (54,000 lb_f) during 37 seconds.^[5]

Launches

The Falstaff was launched eight times between 1969 and 1979.^[6] All the launches were from the Woomera Test Range in Australia,^[5] 500 kilometres (310 mi) north-west of Adelaide.

The first launch on 1 October 1969 used the Stonechat Mk 1 booster.^[5] The seven next launched used the Mk 2 variant.^[5][3] There was one failure, on 23 April 1978.^[5][4]

Date	Site	Vehicle	Apogee (km)	Result
1 October 1969	Woomera	Mk.I		Success
9 May 1975	Woomera	Mk.II F0	119	Success
19 February 1976	Woomera	Mk.II F0 1	117	Success
23 May 1978	Woomera	Mk.II F1		Vehicle failure
15 September 1978	Woomera	Mk.II F2	97	Success
5 December 1978	Woomera	Mk.II F3	98	Payload failure
14 February 1979	Woomera	Mk.II F4	93	Success
4 April 1979	Woomera	Mk.II F5	103	Success

Commemoration

The Falstaff rocket was commemorated in an event cover that depicted a rocket recognisable as a Falstaff. 5 December 1978 was commemorated in such a way.^[7]