The Prospero satellite, which launched on Oct. 28, 1971, holds the distinction of being the first and only British satellite to be launched by a British rocket. (The first British satellite launched by any rocket had been Ariel 1, carried to space on a U.S. rocket in 1962.) British engineers developed the Black Arrow carrier rocket throughout the 1960s for the Ministry of Defence, and the satellite, originally named Puck, was intended for communication and solar panel testing. When the Black Arrow program was canceled in July 1971 after one successful launch and two failures, the rocket had already been sent to its Woomera, Australia, launchpad. The U.K. decided to go ahead with the launch, and the satellite was rechristened Prospero. It launched successfully, although the final-stage rocket collided with the satellite and damaged one of its four radio antennas. Prospero was officially deactivated in 1996, though radio enthusiasts reported hearing it as late as 2004. In 1975, the U.K. was a founding member of the European Space Agency.
