§ Mr. Martenasked the Minister of Technology what estimate he has made of the cost and time scale of mounting Black Arrow on top of Blue Streak to give Great Britain a national satellite launching capability.
§ Mr. BennThe studies, to which my hon. Friend the Minister of State referred in answer to the hon. Member's Question on 18th March, were of various combinations of Blue Streak with stages of the small launcher now being developed as part of the Black Arrow programme. (The latter is based on the Black Knight vehicle to which the hon. Member's earlier Question referred.) As said in the earlier answer, a simple combination of these launchers could not put a satellite into geostationary orbit. This could only be achieved by considerable additional and costly development.—[Vol. 761, c. 10–11.]