Falstaff was a British sounding rocket used during the 1970s as part of the Chevaline programme to improve the penetrability of the Polaris nuclear missile. It was the largest UK rocket with a solid booster ever launched.
Polaris The Falstaff was part of the Chevaline programme to improve the Polaris programme. The Penetration Aids Carrier (PAC) was capable of maneuvering a Falstaff rocket and dispensing missiles. According to John Pitfield, the PAC was launched in 1969, 1975, 1976 and 1978.
Since the Australian government at the time was not in favour of nuclear weapons, the testing of the Falstaff vehicles on Australian soil had the potential to cause embarrassment. The details of over 4000 launches from the Woomera Range are still not fully released.
Before the revelation that the Falstaff rockets were part of a nuclear program, anti-nuclear campaigners in Australia had believed that testing ended in 1963.
Design The Falstaff with the Stonechat Mk 2 booster was long and had a diameter of . It weighed of which was solid propellant. It delivered an average thrust of during 37 seconds.
Launches The Falstaff was launched eight times between 1969 and 1979. All the launches were from the Woomera Test Range in Australia, north-west of Adelaide.
The first launch on 1 October 1969 used the Stonechat Mk 1 booster. The seven next launched used the Mk 2 variant. There was one failure, on 23 April 1978.
Date Site VehicleApogee (km) Result 1 October 1969 Woomera Mk.I Success 9 May 1975 Woomera Mk.II F0119 Success 19 February 1976 Woomera Mk.II F0 1117 Success 23 May 1978 Woomera Mk.II F1 Vehicle failure 15 September 1978 Woomera Mk.II F297 Success 5 December 1978 Woomera Mk.II F398 Payload failure 14 February 1979 Woomera Mk.II F493 Success 4 April 1979 Woomera Mk.II F5103 Success
Commemoration The Falstaff rocket was commemorated in an event cover that depicted a rocket recognisable as a Falstaff. 5 December 1978 was commemorated in such a way.
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