Black Brant 1960. Credit: Defense Research and Development Canada.
At the event, Magellan Aerospace’s Vice President and General Manager, Mr. Don Boitson, made a presentation of a full size Black Brant rocket to the Manitoba Museum. The rocket will be an exhibit in the museum’s Science Gallery.
Claudette Leclerc, CEO of The Manitoba Museum said, “The Black Brant rocket is science in Manitoba at its best and a significant part of Manitoba’s science and engineering history. We are truly honoured that Magellan Aerospace has chosen The Manitoba Museum’s Science Gallery to be the custodian of the history. The Black Brant rocket will become an iconic focal point to illustrate the importance of Manitoba’s aerospace industry. We can’t wait to get it into our Science Gallery as soon as possible.
Black Brant sounding rockets are single-stage or multi-stage solid propellant rockets used to propel scientific payloads into space on parabolic or sub-orbital trajectories. They carry payloads from 70 to 850 kg to altitudes from 150 to 1500 km. From the mid 1950s until the early 1980s the Churchill Research Range in northern Manitoba was used to launch rockets to explore the upper atmosphere.