Author: Sally Perry
See Rocket Launches At West High Down Tomorrow
9:52 am Thursday, 27th October, 2011, Isle of Wight
ShortURL: http://wig.ht/291a
Read More- Art, Newport, News, Science, West Wight, What's On
Wow, this is one mega event that can’t be missed. If you haven’t booked your free tickets to tomorrow’s event being organised by Quay Arts at the former rocket testing facility yet, you’d better get your skates on.
Quay Arts 2010 Open winner Katayoun Dowlatshahi has created Orbit – a new body of artwork for The West Gallery, Quay Arts, inspired by a former Cold War rocket testing site on the Island.
With the support of National Trust, Astrium, Mullard – Space Science Laboratory and Arts Council England, she has co-ordinated a live event taking place tomorrow (Friday 28 Oct 2011), between 1pm and dusk at West High Down, formally a secret Cold War rocket testing site, to mark the 40th Anniversary of Prospero – the only British built satellite to be placed into Earth’s orbit atop a British built rocket – Black Arrow, which was built and tested on the Island.
See working pulse jet rockets
For the first time since the closure of the site in 1971, the event will see the return of working pulse jet rockets to the site by 11 apprentices from Astrium* in Portsmouth.
The launch of a scale model of Black Arrow; three eminent speakers covering topics ranging from a historical, scientific and business perspective; a memory wall for those associated with the British Space Programme to contribute to either in the form of memories or artefacts; interactive activities for all ages, finally leading to a lantern launch at dusk.
For full details of the day’s programme, see the listing on Events OnTheWight.
The event is free but we ask you to book through Quay Arts Box Office on 01983 822490 or by emailing info@quayarts.org
You can pre-book a return journey on a private coach from Ryde to Newport to visit the exhibition before travelling on to West High Down. For more information about costs and times please contact Quay Arts Box Office.
Photo Credit: Black Arrow launch from National Trust Archives, West High Down.
Sounds like fun, & if I wasn’t working I’d be there.
I’m puzzled about the “return” of pulse jets: When did the Black Knight/Black Arrow project involve pulse jets? The only widely used ones I know of were on the German V1′s.
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The Black Arrow rocket was not entirley British. Apparently the Americans gave us the plans for the Atlas engine and we just scaled it down.
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Not so Paul. Black Knight & Black Arrow used the British ‘Gamma’ engine, which was based on the German wartime Walther engine. The Gamma ran on kerosene with hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, while the Atlas series used liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen — a wholly different technology. In fact, we supplied a lot of information about our technology to the US.
If you can make it to the Needles New Battery, there’s a lot of info up there, as well as one or two excellent books on the subject. If you can’t get there before this Sunday, when the site closes, there’s plenty of gen on the ‘net, of course.
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I must have been misinformed then kasper. This is what I was told by a guide who had worked on it when I had a tour of the site.
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Should be interesting.Hope it will be televised for the local news so we can all see the launch and flight.
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Went to this today with my Father who is one of the old ‘Rocket Men’. It was a good afternoon and was well supported. Well done to those people who organised it.
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For those of you who’d like to view the demonstrations by the Astrium apprentices and the model rocket launch.
Valveless Pulsejet demo – Astrium Stevenage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLzg_XAHck
Pulsejet demo – Astrium Portsmouth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W800ggoJXYU
Black Arrow Model Rocket Launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8wV1tn-DeA
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