The Sparta (or Redstone-Sparta, both from the acronym ‘Special Anti-missile Research Tests, Australia’) was a three-stage orbital-capable rocket launched between 1966 and 1967 from Woomera Test Range LA8 in Woomera, South Australia. Australia's first Earth satellite, WRESAT, was launched into a polar orbit on the final Sparta on November, 29 1967. Ten Sparta rockets were developed, one of which was placed in reserve. The first nine launched as part of the joint United States–United Kingdom–Australian research program, known as Project SPARTA, aimed at better understanding re-entry phenomena from various model warheads, made as a follow-up to previous similar joint projects. Sparta used modified surplus American Redstone rockets as its first stage, a Thiokol Antares 2 from the Scout rocket as a second stage, and a BE-3 Alcyone solid-propellant engine as a third stage. Both of these upper stages were spin-stabilized during launch to approximately 150 rpm prior to first stage separation.
In 1990, the first stage of the Sparta rocket that had launched WRESAT was recovered from the Simpson Desert after being found in searches by explorer Dick Smith the previous year.
Launches The re-entry profiles of the SPARTA test vehicles would be closely monitored and examined from ground-based systems to aid in the development of anti-missile counter-weapon systems. For these launches, the BE-3 third stage was used to achieve higher descent speeds of around 6 kilometers per second (13,000 mph). Early into the Sparta program, the idea of using the final launch vehicle for sending a scientific payload into orbit was proposed, leading to the planning, creation, and launching of WRESAT. Re-entry payloads launched by the Redstone Sparta were simply referred to as Sparta 1 through 9. The first launch was a failure and was destroyed by range safety, while the rest were successful.
Gallery
On display Sparta first stage remains are displayed at the Woomera Rocket Park, Woomera, South Australia).
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