The 441st Skylark, to launch from Sweden, was re-scheduled for Monday.

The Skylark, which first flew in 1957, has been used to take scientific experiments into space.

"We should be immensely proud of the contribution to science that Skylark has made and it is a testament to the skill of British engineers that the program has lasted half a century," Hugh Whitfield of Sounding Rocket Services, which has operated the Skylark vehicles since 1999, told the BBC.

"The Skylark is a classic. Back in the '50s, Britain was very advanced on the capabilities of aircraft and they were coming up to launch satellites; the country was Europe's leading light and we were up there with the Americans and Russians!", said Whitfield.

The final Skylark mission, MASER 10, carries a suite of experiments to study the effects of microgravity, including a biological investigation of the protein, actin, and a study of interfacial turbulence in evaporating liquids.

MASER 10 will be launched from the Esrange Site, near Kiruna in northern Sweden.

Skylark rockets have been launched from Wales, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Norway, Sardinia, Spain and Sweden. Early experiments ranged from atmospheric studies to X-ray astronomy and research into the ionospheric interactions that cause aurorae.

The rockets were popular with young scientific researchers, as it was possible for a PhD student to design a space experiment, launch it on a Skylark vehicle and write up the results in just three years.

In recent years research has focused on microgravity experiments led by the German space agency, DLR, and testing equipment for Spacelab and the International Space Station.

The Skylark 7 that will be used for the final launch is a two-stage rocket that can carry a payload weighing 380 kilograms to an altitude of 230 kilometres. The Skylark 7 is powered by a "Goldfinch" boost stage and a "Raven XI" main stage motor.

Skylark was developed by the Royal Aeronautical Establishment, Farnborough, in conjunction with the Rocket Propulsion Establishment, Westcott.

The rocket motors, which were filled with a plastic propellant, were produced by Royal Ordnance Bridgewater and Westcott.

Initially funded by the UK government, Skylark has been operated on a commercial basis since 1966, first by British Aerospace, then Matra Marconi Space, and finally Sounding Rocket Services.

Although production of motors ended in November 1994, a stockpile has meant that Skylarks have continued to be launched at least once per year ever since.

Sounding Rocket Services now plan to become the European agent for the American built Oriole range of rockets and a supplier of hardware to the German/Brazlian VSB 30 vehicle.

UPI contributed to this report

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