RAAF Woomera Range Complex Launch Area 5B

LA-5B

Mission Profile

Launch Area 5B (LA-5B) at RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia was the dedicated launch pad for Britain's Black Arrow orbital rocket, which achieved the UK's only successful independent orbital launch on 28 October 1971 placing the Prospero satellite into orbit. The pad was built specifically for Black Arrow operations following the Black Knight sounding rocket campaign at nearby LA-5A. After only four Black Arrow flights, the program was cancelled by the British government in 1971 — ironically on the same day Prospero was launched successfully — leaving the UK without an independent orbital launch capability it has not recovered to this day. LA-5B remains at Woomera as a historical site commemorating Britain's brief participation in the exclusive club of orbital-launch-capable nations.