| Launch Area 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Site: | Woomera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short: | LA-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tlaunches: | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator: | RAAF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inclination: | 82-90° | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pads: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paddetails: |
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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] [2] Originally LA5 was a rocket launch site which supported a number of British experimental launches, including the United Kingdom's first, and only, satellite launch. It consisted of three separate launch pads, which supported 22 Black Knight sounding rocket launches,[3] [4] 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.[5]