Sparta (rocket)

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Redstone Sparta missile preparing for launch in Woomera

Sparta or Redstone Sparta was the name of a launcher , consisting of a Redstone medium range rocket as the first, an Antares rocket as the second and a BE-3 as the third stage. The Sparta was launched nine times for re-entry tests in Woomera in 1966/1967 . The tenth Sparta missile left over from the re-entry research program was made available to the Australian Weapon Research Establishment (WRE) to put the first Australian satellite , Wresat , into orbit on November 29, 1967.

Technical specifications

  • Summit height: 1100 km
  • Starting thrust: 357.00 kN
  • Takeoff weight: 30,000 kg
  • Diameter: 1.78 m
  • Length: 21.80 m

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