Sparta (rocket)

The Sparta (or Redstone Sparta) was a three-stage rocket that launched Australia's first Earth satellite, WRESAT, on 29 November 1967.^[1][2][3]

Sparta

Function	Sounding rocket Launch system
Manufacturer	ABMA/Chrysler
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	21.8 metres (72 ft)
Diameter	1.78 metres (5 ft 10 in)
Mass	30,000 kilograms (66,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	45 kilograms (99 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Redstone
Comparable	Jupiter-C Juno I
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Woomera Test Range LA-8
Total launches	10
Success(es)	9
Failure(s)	1
First flight	28 November 1966
Last flight	29 November 1967
Carries passengers or cargo	Re-entry vehicles, WRESAT
First stage – Redstone
Powered by	1 A-7
Maximum thrust	416 kilonewtons (94,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	265 sec
Burn time	155 seconds
Propellant	LOX/Ethanol
Second stage – Antares-2
Powered by	1 X-259
Maximum thrust	93 kilonewtons (21,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	293 sec
Burn time	36 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Third stage – BE-3 Alcyone
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	34 kilonewtons (7,600 lbf)
Burn time	9 seconds
Propellant	Solid

Sparta used surplus American Redstone rockets as its first stage, a Thiokol Antares 2 from Scout rocket as a second stage, and a WRE BE-3 Alcyone solid-propellant engine as a third stage.^[2][3][4]

A first stage was recovered from the Simpson Desert in 1990 after being found in searches by explorer Dick Smith the previous year.^{[5]: 76–80}

Launches

Several Spartas were launched between 1966 and 1967 from Woomera Test Range LA8 in Woomera, South Australia as part of a joint United States–United Kingdom–Australian research program aimed at understanding re-entry phenomena, and the US donated a spare for the scientific satellite launch into polar orbit.^[6][2][3]

The first launch was a failure, while the rest were successful.^[3]

Sparta launches^[2][3]

Date	Mission Description	Nation	Agency	Apogee (km)
1966 Nov 28	Sparta SV-1 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1966 Dec 13	Sparta SV-2 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1967 Apr 20	Sparta SV-3 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1967 Jul 4	Sparta SV-4 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1967 Jul 24	Sparta SV-5 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1967 Aug 17	Sparta SV-6 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	90
1967 Sep 15	Sparta SV-7 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	91
1967 Oct 11	Sparta SV-8 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	137
1967 Oct 31	Sparta SV-9 (re-entry vehicle)	US	US Army	111
1967 Nov 29	WRESAT (satellite)	Australia	WRE	1252

Gallery

• 
  Redstone-Sparta at Woomera LA8
• 
  Preparation for launch of Redstone-Sparta CC-2029 at Woomera LA8
• 
  Preparation for launch of Redstone-Sparta CC-2029 at Woomera LA8
• 
  Launch of Redstone-Sparta CC-2029 with WRESAT satellite (November 29, 1967)
• 
  Launch of Redstone-Sparta CC-2029 with WRESAT satellite (November 29, 1967)