Waxwing (rocket motor)
Appearance
Waxwing was a British solid rocket motor used for apogee kick as the 3rd (upper) stage of the Black Arrow satellite launch vehicles. Waxwing was used to successfully place the Prospero X-3 satellite into low Earth orbit on 28 October 1971, Britain's only satellite launch on an indigenously-developed launch vehicle.
Another use of Waxwing was to increase the velocity of test re-entry vehicles on Black Knight during tests for the Blue Streak missile.[1]
Design and development
Design was by the Rocket Propulsion Establishment (RPE) at Westcott and it was manufactured by Bristol Aerojet.[2] The casing was spherical and the propellant grain used an internal star profile to control the initial burn rate.
- Specifications
- Thrust: 29.4 kN[3][4]
- Specific impulse: 2700 m/s (278 s) [3]
- Burn time: 28 s
40 seconds [4] - Weight: [3]
- Gross mass: 397 kg (875 lb)
- Unfuelled mass: 87 kg (192 lb)
- Dimensions:[5]
- Diameter: 28 in (0.71 m)
- Overall length: 52 in (1.3 m)
- Nozzle length: 22 in (0.56 m)
- Nozzle diameter: 18 in (0.46 m)
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See also
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2013) |
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waxwing rocket motor.
- ^ "Waxwing rocket motor".
- ^ "Point of the Arrow" FLIGHT International, 11 November 1971
- ^ a b c http://astronautix.com/b/blackarrow-3.html
- ^ a b Black Arrow exhibit, Science Museum, London
- ^ "Waxwing dimensional drawing". Space UK.
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