Black Knight - BK06

BK06 was a repeat of BK05 with a similar head but using a tape recorder to record separation and re-entry data. Vehicle performance was good, a re-entry velocity of' 11,220 ft/sec being achieved at 200,000 ft. There was some thrust even after the eight seconds allowed between burn-out and head separation; this caused collision between main stage and head, initiated the ejection of the pyrotechnic flashes and deployed the parachute on the ascent instead of later, as intended, during descent. The tape recorder in the head was switched on correctly and covered the separation phase and later part of the re-entry. The tape cassette, with recordings intact, was recovered together with the eroded durestos nose cone. Further data on erosion was obtained.

Number Stages Date local
time Empty
wt [lbs] HTP
[lbs] Kerosene
[lbs} All up
wt [lbs] Burn-out
time [s] Apogee
miles

06 1 30 10 59 21.19 1 541 10 254 1 300 13 095 147.0 455