Z5

Preparations for Z3 commenced at 1220 and were completed at 1318.

Z3 was launched at 1329:13. The wind observed at LA9 immediately prior to the launch was 7 to 12 knots from the east to south east. The movement of the dust cloud observed from video footage would suggest that the wind was of the same strength but due east at the time of launch.

A noise (like a sudden parachute opening) was heard at LA9 at approximately t+1m 17s, which must have been either the separation charge activated at t+55s or the deployment charge at t+60s or the parachute opening. Allowing 333 m/s as the speed of sound, this would suggest that either:

• The separation point was about 7,326 metres from LA9, which is inconsistent with observed impact points.
• the deployment point was about 5,661 metres from LA9, which is consistent with the sound heard, the projected ballistics and the impact points.

The CLO and APSO observed the parachute descending.

Touchdown was observed by APSO at t + 4m 50s and a bearing of 265.5 deg mag from the observation tower at LA9 and 260.5 deg mag away from magnetic disturbances. This bearing was recorded through the ATM's range/bearing binoculars, which were later confirmed to require adjustment for magnetic anomalies of +7 degrees, plus a further 7 degrees to give a true bearing (ie +14 degs to true). Accordingly, the adjusted bearing for payload module touchdown was 274.5 degrees true.

There was no reported observation of motor impact, probably because all observers were seeking to sight the payload module.

The Search Aircraft assisted with recovery operations, arriving about 15 minutes after the last launch. Directions were given by radio from the main observation tower at LA9. The search aircraft located the module and parachute and directed the ground crews to the same.

The Z3 payload module was found undamaged with its parachute. The electronics were still functioning. Shear screws were found to have been inserted too far and to have damaged threads before shearing. The following GPS data was recorded:

The Z3 payload module ballute (drogue and fairing) was also found and is pictured below. The following GPS data was recorded:

The impact site for Z3 motor was located on 7 June 1998 close to the Z2 motor. The following GPS data was recorded (on 8 June 1998):

The motor impacted nose first and about one metre remained above the surface. All fins had sheared off and were laying nearby. The motor was 5 to 10 degrees from the vertical and was in similar condition to the motor from Z2.