Into the space age at The Needles New Battery

The Needles New Battery is a small site, further up the headland from the Old Battery. Its two underground rooms tell the fascinating story of British space rockets which were secretly tested here between the 1950s and 70s.
Completed between 1893 and 1895, the New Battery was built after the Old Battery site started to suffer coastal erosion. New technology introduced at the time also needed more space than was available at the Old Battery.

A battle that never took place
The Needles Old Battery was built on the orders of Lord Palmerston to protect the naval dockyards at Portsmouth against the threat of attack by the French.
During both world wars the New Battery was put to action and afterwards it was chosen as the test site for a new type of technology.
From 1955 Saunders Roe leased the site and tested the rockets ‘Black Knight’, ‘Black Arrow’ and the satellite ‘Prospero’ here before they were launched in Australia.
Australian launch
The first rocket, known was ‘Black Knight’ was tested in April 1957 at the Highdown site and after further tests, the rockets were taken to Woomera in Australia for launching.
Black Knight was designed to test the effect of re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere on a missile and to develop the design of large liquid fuelled rockets. In all, 22 Black Knight rockets were launched.
From the Black Knight, the Black Arrow, which was designed to put a satellite into orbit, was developed from the late 1960s. In 1971 it was launched from Woomera along with the satellite ‘Prospero’ which was tucked into the nose cone. Sadly, within days of the successful launch, the British Government cancelled the space programme and the final Black Arrow rocket built was given to the Science Museum in London.
Discover the site for yourself
In the underground rooms of the New Battery, which were the nerve centre of this highly secret operation, there are models of the rockets Black Knight and Black Arrow, and the satellite Prospero. Some of the rooms have been recreated as they would have looked when the top-secret tests were being carried out.
Useful things to know....
- Inside the New Battery there is a refreshment kiosk selling hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks and ice-creams. Portable toilet facilities are also available during the main season.
- There's no admission charge to the Needles New Battery
- It's open 7 days a week, from 11am to 4pm from April to October
- Access to the rooms is down a short flight of steps.
- Dogs on leads are welcome
Getting here
From the Needles Old Battery there is a choice of two steep paths both with good views across to Alum Bay and the mainland. By the Old Battery entrance there is a flight of wide steps, alternatively follow the road up and around to the top.
The Needles Breezer Bus stops outside the New Battery. From here it is an easy walk down to the Old Battery.