Edinburgh rocket firm Skyrora is embarking on a mission to find a satellite launched into space in the 1970s.
The company want the UK space industry to support its efforts to find Prospero – the first British satellite to have been launched successfully by a British rocket when it was sent into space on October 28, 1971.
They plan to use their own Space Tug orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) to remove the 66kg from orbit. The mission would be Skyrora's first full deployment of their OTV to help address the "space junk" problem.
Prospero was launched on the Black Arrow rocket from Woomera, South Australia, and half a century after it was sent into space it continues to orbit above our heads. The satellite could be heard transmitting on 137.56 MHz as recently as 2004.
Volodymr Levykin, Skyrora’s founder and CEO, said: “It’s 50 years since the UK launched a British satellite into orbit from a British rocket. The UK is a world leader in space technology, and today as a country we are embarking on a new chapter of space innovation.
"By recovering Prospero, we are not only coming together as a space nation and taking responsibility for what we have launched into orbit, but also confirming our commitment to the sustainable use of outer space.”
Earlier this year Skyrora successfully completed trials of the third stage of its XL rocket, including its OTV, a vehicle that can refire its engines around 15 times to complete tasks such as de-orbiting defunct satellites.
A mission to de-orbit Prospero could be the Space Tug’s first real-world deployment and a demonstration of its long-term potential in removing “space junk” – the ever-increasing volume of redundant satellites orbiting Earth..
The Finding Prospero launch event was hosted by TV presenter Dallas Campbell. Other speakers included ESA Astronaut Major Tim Peake, Black Arrow Engineer Terry Brooke, Senior Advisor Lord David Willetts, and Joanne Wheeler, a leading practitioner in satellite regulation.
