BlackKnight

BK18 was the second proving vehicle for the Gamma 301 engine and the transistor control system. The head was a 12.5o semi-angle doorstops cone, 2 inch nose radius (as on head H2/04) and with a seem-elliptical base (as on head H2/03) and was fitted with accelerometers and rate gyroscopes for investigation of re-entry dynamics.

BK16 was the proving trial of the Black Knight vehicle for re-entry physics experiments (Project Dazzle). It was a two-stage vehicle powered for the first time by a Gamma 301 engine. A transistor control system was also tested for the first time. To meet the requirements for the re-entry physics experiments, ignition of the second stage was timed to occur at about one million feet and the head was separated from the second stage at an increased velocity in order to achieve re-entry of the head well separated (15,000 feet) from the rest of the vehicle at re-entry.