Woomera Launch Area 5

Launch Area 5

Launch site	Woomera
Location	30°57′00″S 136°27′34″E / 30.9500°S 136.4595°E
Short name	LA-5
Operator	RAAF
Total launches	26
Launch pad(s)	3
Min / max orbital inclination	82-90°
LA-5 launch history Status (2013) DSTO Rocket Engine Test Facility Launches 12 First launch 7 June 1961 Last launch 25 November 1965 Associated rockets Black Knight LA-5A launch history Status Decommissioned Launches 9 First launch 7 September 1958 Last launch 7 May 1961 Associated rockets Black Knight LA-5B launch history Status Decommissioned Launches 5 First launch 9 May 1961 Last launch 28 October 1971 Associated rockets Black Knight Black Arrow

Launch Area 5 (LA5) is an operational site at the RAAF Woomera Test Range which forms the primary operational capability of the Woomera Range Complex.^[1] Originally LA5 was a rocket launch site which supported a number of British experimental launches, including the United Kingdom's first, and as of 2015 only, satellite launch. It consisted of three separate launch pads, which supported 22 Black Knight sounding rocket launches, and four Black Arrow carrier rocket launches. Of the four Black Arrow launches, two were orbital launches, the first of which, on 2 September 1970, failed, and the second, on 28 October 1971, succeeded, placing the Prospero satellite into low Earth orbit.^[2]

References

1. See: HQWTR - Woomera Range Complex Fact Sheet (Nov 2013)
2. See: Peter Morton, 'Fire Across the Desert', AGPS 1989