Project Santa Barbara
{{use mdy|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox project
| abbreviation =
| native_name =
| logo =
| image = SantaBarbaraProject1.jpg
| caption = Bukang Liwayway rocket launchers on their way
| motto =
| type =
| country = Philippines
| owner =
| founder =
| primeminister =
| key_people = Ferdinand Marcos
| launched = 1972
| launch_place =
| closed =
| budget =
| website =
| current_status = Closed
}}
Project Santa Barbara was a missile program developed under the administration of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos (1965–86) during the Cold War. The first successful launch was in 1972. The project was discontinued due to undisclosed reasons.
Background
{{Infobox rocket
|status=Retired
|only=
|first=March 12, 1972
|other_outcome=36 (status unknown)
|partial=
|success=1
|launches=37
|sites=Caballo Island
Fort Magsaysay
|derivatives=
|caption=
|family=
|stages=
|alt-cpl=
|cpl-year=
|cpl=
|country-origin=Philippines
|function=Research rocket
|name=Bongbong
|payloads=}}
Project Santa Barbara was initiated by the administration of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and it involved the Philippine Navy and a group of scientists.{{cite news|title=Project Sta. Barbara Marks 41 Years |url=http://www.navy.mil.ph/news.php?news_id=876 |publisher=Philippine Navy |agency=Naval Public Affairs Office|access-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726043931/http://www.navy.mil.ph/news.php?news_id=876 |archive-date=26 July 2014 |date=12 March 2013}} It was conceived amidst the United States withdrawal of its armed forces in Indochina and in anticipation that the US would also withdraw its forces stationed in the Philippines.{{cite news |last1=Limos |first1=Mario Alvaro |title=Bongbong Rocket: The Secret Missile Experiment of the Philippines |url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/bongbong-rocket-project-santa-barbara-a00293-20210421 |access-date=29 September 2021 |work=Esquire |date=21 April 2021}}
Under the program, different types of missiles were developed which are intended to intercept land, sea, and air-based threats. There were also plans to export missiles developed under the program to friendly countries.
One of the missiles developed was the Bongbong rocket, named after the moniker of President Marcos' son Ferdinand Jr. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States described the weapon as the Philippines' first liquid-propellant rocket.{{cite book |title=Astronautics and Aeronautics,, 1972: Chronology of Science, Technology, and Policy |date=1974 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |page=96 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/AAchronologies/1972.pdf |access-date=29 September 2021 |quote=March 12: Philippines successfully launched Bong Bong 11, its first liquid-propellant rocket. Rocket was successfully retrieved from South China Sea. (SBD, 3/22/72, 121)}} The associated weaponry system of the Bongbong rocket is similar to the Soviet unguided artillery Katyusha.{{cite web |title=Philippines poised to acquire BrahMos missiles |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/philippines-poised-to-acquire-brahmos-missiles-1.68535829 |website=Gulf News |date=February 3, 2020 |access-date=29 September 2021 |language=en}} The 37 dynamic tests were conducted, with most of the test conducted on Caballo Island. Four of the test were made in Fort Magsaysay.
The first successful launch under the project involved the Bongbong rocket. The launch was made on March 12, 1972 with the rocket retrieved from the South China Sea.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHtd1XYaCw - A 1973 parade featuring the Bongbong rocket archived in [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/RxHtd1XYaCw Ghostarchive.org] on 3 May 2022