Woomera Launch Area 5
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
Launch site | Woomera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 30°58′19.7″S 136°28′31.6″E / 30.972139°S 136.475444°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short name | LA-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | RAAF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total launches | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Launch pad(s) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Orbital inclination range | 82-90° | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Launch Area 5 (LA5) is an operational site at the RAAF Woomera Test Range which forms the primary operational capability of the Woomera Range Complex.[1][2] Originally LA5 was a rocket launch site which supported a number of British experimental launches, including the United Kingdom's first, and as of 2023[update] only, satellite launch. It consisted of three separate launch pads, which supported 22 Black Knight sounding rocket launches,[3][4] and four Black Arrow carrier rocket launches.[4] Of the four Black Arrow launches, two were orbital launches, the first of which, on 2 September 1970, failed, and the second, on 28 October 1971, succeeded, placing the Prospero satellite into low Earth orbit.[5]
References
- ^ See: HQWTR - Woomera Range Complex Fact Sheet (Nov 2013)
- ^ "Woomera". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Woomera LA5A". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Woomera LA5B". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ See: Peter Morton, 'Fire Across the Desert', AGPS 1989