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Sparta (rocket)

Australian satellite launch system From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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]

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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

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Launches

Several Spartas were launched between 1966 and 1967 from Woomera Test Range LA8 in Woomera, South Australia as part of a joint United StatesUnited KingdomAustralian 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]

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References

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