Trivia question on history of rocket launches....

Gargoyle_Steve (Steve) · #1 10-03-2008, 07:03 AM

I just read something that rather intrigued me, so I thought I'd run it past the IIS population here and see who actually might know this fact.

The first country to launch it's own satellite (ie designed and manufactured within that country) from a launchpad located within that same country was the USSR. (No great surprise there)

The second country to do so was then, of course, the USA....
(ditto no surprise)

The third country to achieve this feat was in fact France....
(mildly interesting)

Without looking this up does anyone know which country was the fourth to achieve such a feat?

omnivorr · #2 10-03-2008, 07:12 AM

..the obvious guess I'd make would be China.. but I'm expecting I'm wrong

Cheers
Russ PS ..or Japan?

dalemadison · #3 10-03-2008, 07:21 AM

I think it was Australia with WRESAT.

omnivorr · #4 10-03-2008, 07:33 AM

...according to this site Oz is technically 3rd !!.. last place I'd've guessed

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/crcss/history.html

edit: oops f'got link

Gargoyle_Steve (Steve) · #5 10-03-2008, 03:00 PM

Full marks to Dale for the WRESAT answer, and welcome to the forum by the way!

Interesting link!!

The site I was reading - specifically about Woomera and it's history - lists Australia as fourth. More research is needed about France's effort, but either way it's good to see Australia was right up there!

http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~woomera/wresat.htm

Suzy_A · #6 10-03-2008, 03:10 PM

Australia was actually a founding member of ESA back in the early '60's and Australia (with a bit of help from the UK...) launched a satellite from Woomera, putting Australia in 3rd place.

However the Menzies Government decided that all this space stuff was a load of rubbish and that it would never go anywhere, so Menzies pulled the plug, so now we pay billions of dollars to the Americans, Chinese and Europe to do what we were doing in the first (or third) place.

Scattered across many remote parts of WA and SA are bits of 1sta nd 2nd stage rockets launched from Woomera - I have a piece on one somewhere at home...

wasyoungonce (Brendan) · #7 10-03-2008, 06:03 PM

Whilst not a rocket...the reportedly 1st man made object in space was a manhole cover from Operation Plumbob

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob

Suzy_A · #8 10-03-2008, 07:48 PM

Well, if you look at it that way - the line where Space is defined as starting is 50 miles (I think Statute - not Nautical - but not sure on this...) above the Earth's surface.

So the first sub-orbital flight into space are probably one of Werner's V2s. They easily exceeded 50 miles.

Night Owl · #9 11-03-2008, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wasyoungonce

Whilst not a rocket...the reportedly 1st man made object in space was a manhole cover from Operation Plumbob

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob

Yeah, heard this years ago. The super slo mo camera they had on this metal plate placed over the shaft head of an underground nuclear test only showed in 1 frame, as it took off for destination unknown.

But there is serious doubt that it ever made it to space as the velocity it had would have had a launch would have caused it to melt / vapourise well before hand.

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Plumbob.html

Scroll down the Pascal B test.

wasyoungonce (Brendan) · #10 11-03-2008, 03:50 PM

A little OT but there was a Nuclear test called "Priscilla" in 1957!

well, I think it sounds funny anyway

Dog Star (Phil) · #11 11-03-2008, 11:41 PM

According to what I've read, Australia was in fact the 3rd. Mind you, that information came from a packet of Tally Ho cigarette papers.

Gargoyle_Steve (Steve) · #12 13-03-2008, 10:19 AM

"Astérix, the first French satellite, was launched on November 26, 1965 by a rocket of type Diamant A from Hammaguir in Algeria."

Obviously then Australia was indeed the 3rd country to achieve a launch within it's own borders.

The Tally-Ho papers have it right yet again!

(The Redstone rocket used to launch WRESAT was donated by the US, it was a "spare" if you like, left over from US test launch series at Woomera - but the satellite itself was Australian designed and built!)

And on a personal note - Welcome to the Forum Dog Star!

Good to see you here brother, and already posting onto threads - congrats on this, your first post!