Black Brant X
Launch vehicle · Canada
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Black Brant 10
Canadian sounding rocket. Three stage vehicle consisting of 1 x Terrier + 1 x Black Brant VB or VC + 1 x Nihka. Payload 90 kg to 1,200 km or 317 kg to 550 km.
The Black Brant X rocket system was a three-stage system, and unique because the third stage motor was ignited once the vehicle system reached exoatmospheric conditions. The first stage booster consisted of a Terrier MK 12 Mod 1 rocket motor with four 0.22 square meter fin panels arranged in a cruciform configuration. The finless third stage was the Nihka rocket motor, developed specifically for the Black Brant X rocket system by Bristol Aerospace. The standard payload configuration for the Black Brant X vehicle was 44 cm in diameter with a 3:1 ogive nose shape. Payload length and weight limits for the Black Brant X were the same as the Black Brant V. Standard hardware systems available for Black Brant V motors included aft recovery systems, payload separation systems (including High Velocity Separation System) and despin systems. These units were modular "stackable" so that a great deal of flexibility existed in meeting experiment requirements.
Related
- Country
- Canada
- Launch Sites
- Wallops Island, Poker Flat, Andoya, Barking Sands, Wallops Island LA2, Cape Parry, Sonde Stromfjord, Alcantara
- Agency
- Bristol
Chronology
31 events
1981 August 14
Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1981 December 1
01:38 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Parry. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1981 December 13
22:54 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Parry. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1982 April 16
06:29 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1982 April 20
06:30 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1983 April 10
07:43 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1984 February 7
09:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1984 March 30
11:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1984 April 1
07:19 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1985 January 23
09:26 GMT - . Launch Site: Sonde Stromfjord. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1985 February 10
02:13 GMT - . Launch Site: Sonde Stromfjord. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1986 January 18
18:13 GMT - . Launch Site: Andoya. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1986 April 1
08:17 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1986 April 13
09:14 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1986 April 22
08:49 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1986 May 13
07:40 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1987 March 7
06:39 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X. FAILURE: Failure.1987 December 14
01:45 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA2. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1988 January 19
08:40 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1988 March 4
06:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1988 December 17
11:01 GMT - . Launch Site: Andoya. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1989 May 4
01:42 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1989 July 31
Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1989 July 31
Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1990 April 5
13:47 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1993 July 22
08:25 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.1994 October 14
22:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Alcantara. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.- GUARA High Altitude Spread F Ionosphere mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee: 956 km (594 mi).
1999 February 11
06:45 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.- ENSTROPHY Ionosphere mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Apogee: 1,071 km (665 mi).
2007 February 14
09:27 GMT - . Launch Site: Poker Flat. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.- HEX-II H Aeronomy mission - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Apogee: 150 km (90 mi).
2010 August 4
09:15 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.- NASA 12.073GT - . Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Greenbelt. Apogee: 693 km (430 mi). Qualification test of a new version of the Black Brant's Nikha solid motor..
2018 December 7
11:06 GMT - . Launch Site: Svalbard. LV Family: Black Brant. Launch Vehicle: Black Brant X.- VISIONS-2 1 - . Apogee: 805 km (500 mi). Auroral mission. Impacted Svalbard.
- VISIONS-2 2 - . Apogee: 600 km (370 mi). Auroral mission. Impacted Svalbard.