My father, Donald Hardy, who has died aged 89, was responsible for the successful launch in 1971 of Prospero, the first and only satellite launched by the UK on its own rocket, Black Arrow. Prospero fulfilled its mission and is still in orbit. Don was also a pioneer in using remote-sensing data from Earth observation satellites.
Don was born in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, and grew up in Farnborough, Hampshire, the son of Audrey (nee Hewitt) and Lionel. He left Farnborough grammar school at 15, joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in the town as an apprentice, and later training on radar in the navy. After demobilisation, he returned to the RAE and began working on guided weapons trials.
He began climbing the civil service hierarchy, despite his lack of higher education. He designed telemetry and command systems, and became increasingly involved in project management. His report on the management of satellite projects was adopted and he was appointed head of spacecraft operations.
Don started studying the operational implications of satellites in the Black Arrow programme in 1966 and, in April 1967, he was “given two juniors, told to form an operations section and to get on with it”. He built a team and was responsible for the design and assembly of Prospero, its testing on the ground on the Isle of Wight, the launch at Woomera, Australia, and its operation in orbit.
To save money, Don set up an in-house capability to control the satellite, acquiring a telemetry and command station in Australia and shipping it to Lasham in Hampshire. After refurbishment, it became the tracking station for signals from Prospero.
Don contributed to the scientific satellite projects Ariel 3 and 5, and led studies of advanced space missions. He foresaw the potential for the use of information from satellites and set up a remote-sensing section within RAE in 1977. He established the National Remote Sensing Centre in Farnborough in 1980 (since privatised) and was appointed director of Earth observation at the British National Space Centre, based at Millbank Tower in London. In 1986-87, he led the UK delegation to the European Space Agency’s Earth observation programme board.
Don was awarded the Remote Sensing Society gold medal in 1984 and the Imperial Service Order on retiring from the civil service in 1986.
Very much a family man, Don married Sheila Stagg in 1951 and they had five children. He enjoyed classical music, gardening and photography, read widely and had many interests, including history, archaeology and church architecture. My parents lived in and around Farnborough for most of their married life, but in 2000 settled not far away in Alton.
Sheila died in 2012. Don is survived by his children, Susan, Simon, Joy, Jeremy and me, his sister, Muriel, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
