Join historian Helen Antrobus for the tale of Britain’s space race.

It’s the mid 1950’s and the height of the Cold War era.

British engineers are working in secret at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, testing a nuclear deterrent, the Black Knight Rocket.

But by the end of the 1960s the British rocket programme is under threat. Engineers have one last chance to get into space with the ambitious Black Arrow Rocket.

Can Britain reach the stars or will it fail to launch?

 

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Production

Presenter: Helen Antrobus

Producer and sound designer: Nikki Ruck



Contributors 

Paul Carey

Steve Berden

Doug Millard



Cast

Jesse Edbrooke – voice of Ray Wheeler

In memory of Ray Wheeler 1927-2019 

With thanks to NASA



Discover more

Discover more about the secrets behind Highdown test site visit  The New Battery at The Needles



Find out more about the history of Black Knight, Black Arrow and Prospero rockets

Wight Aviation Museum



See the Black Arrow Rocket itself https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visit



Discover more podcasts

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/virtual-visit/podcasts#stories-about-nature-and-history



If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at [email protected]