WRESAT, or Weapons Research Establishment Satellite, was Australia's first satellite. It was named after its designer, the Weapons Research Establishment. WRESAT was launched on 29 November 1967 using a modified American Redstone rocket with two upper stages, known as a Sparta, from the Woomera Test Range in South Australia.

Using a spare American Redstone rocket from the tripartite Sparta project conducted at Woomera, WRE satellite (WRESAT) was designed, developed, built and successfully launched in eleven months.

The Sparta (or Redstone Sparta) was a three-stage rocket that launched Australia's first Earth satellite, WRESAT, on 29 November 1967. [1] [2] [3] Sparta used surplus American Redstone rockets as its first stage, a Thiokol Antares 2 from Scout rocket as a second stage, and a WRE BE-3 Alcyone solid-propellant engine as a third stage. [2] [3] [4]

Project WRESAT (Weapons Research Establishment Satellite) involves the design, development and launching of a small scientific satellite from the Woomera Range by the end of 1967.

Nov 29, 2017 · Australia is celebrating 50 years since the launch of its first satellite. The Weapons Research Establishment Satellite (WRESAT) was launched from Woomera, in outback South Australia, on November 29, 1967.

On 29 November 1967 at 2:19 pm (local time), a small scientific satellite named the Weapons Research Establishment SATellite (WRESAT) was launched from Woomera, South Australia. Australia was the third country in the world to launch a satellite into space from its own territory.

Apr 17, 2025 · WRESAT 1, built within 11 months by the Australian Weapons Research Establishment, was launched by a Sparta launcher from Woomera into a 106x777 km orbit inclined at 83 deg. The 45kg Australian microsatellite used a modified American Redstone rocket and transmitted for 5 days.

Nov 8, 2017 · WRESAT (the Weapons Research Establishment Satellite) blasted off from Woomera on 29 November 1967 and Australia became the third nation to design and launch a satellite to orbit the earth. WRESAT completed 642 orbits before crashing back to earth.

Apr 20, 2024 · Wresat (Weapons Research Establishment Satellite), built within 11 months by the Australian Weapons Research Establishment, was launched by a surplus Redstone Sparta launch vehicle from Woomera into a 198 km × 1252 km orbit inclined at 83 deg. The 45 kg Australian microsatellite transmitted for 5 days.

Fifty years ago, on 29 November 1967, Australia launched its first satellite, WRESAT (Weapons Research Establishment Satellite), from the Woomera Rocket Range in South Australia.