Date in year · 1971 · The 1970s

October 28, 1971

On October 28, 1971, prospero becomes the only British satellite to be launched by a British rocket. The year's #1 song was "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. Franck Esposito, Danie Mellor, Bo Outlaw would arrive in the same year.

Events

1

Births

0

Deaths

0

Year

1971

1970s

Around 1971

The year in brief

1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1971st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 971st year of the 2nd millennium, the 71st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1970s decade.

Read the full year of 1971 →

What happened

On October 28, 1971

  1. 1971 Prospero becomes the only British satellite to be launched by a British rocket.

    British experimental satellite launched in 1971

    The Prospero satellite, also known as the X-3, was launched by the United Kingdom in 1971. It was designed to undertake a series of experiments to study the effects of the space environment on communications satellites and remained operational until 1973, after which it was contacted annually for over 25 years. Although Prospero was the first British satellite to have been launched successfully by a British rocket, Black Arrow, the first British satellite placed in orbit was Ariel 1, launched in April 1962 on a US rocket.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1971

The class of 1971

Others born in 1971

Franck Esposito 1971– French swimmer
Danie Mellor 1971– Australian painter and sculptor
Bo Outlaw 1971– American basketball player
Cameron Blades 1971– Australian rugby player
Selena 1971– American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (died 1995)
Seigo Yamamoto 1971– Japanese racing driver

Step through

Nearby

Keep going

More to explore