The Titus sounding rocket was developed specifically by

ONERA The Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales ( English: National office for aerospace studies and research) or ONERA, dubbed ''The French Aerospace Lab'' in English, is the French national aerospace research center. Originally f ...

for observing the solar corona and conducting spectral analysis of the Sun's ultraviolet rays during the November 1966 solar eclipse in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The two-stage rocket, standing just over 11.5 meters tall and weighing 3045 kg without payload, could launch 400 kg to an altitude of 250 km.

Description

Titus was derived from the initial two stages of the

Bérénice ''Berenice'' () is a five-act tragedy by the French 17th-century playwright Jean Racine. ''Berenice'' was not played often between the 17th and the 20th centuries. It was premiered on 21 November 1670 by the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de ...

test vehicle. The first stage, weighing 1935 kg, used a SEPR-739-2 ''Stromboli'' solid rocket motor with 1245 kg of ''Plastolane'' propellant with a 20-second burn time. The second stage, weighing 1110 kg, utilized a SEPR-740-3 ''Stromboli'' motor with 738 kg of ''Plastolane'' propellant with a 20-second combustion duration. Stabilization involved four SEPR-P167 stabilization rockets with adjustable nozzles around the first stage, while the second stage had four fixed tailplanes. Accuracy was within a few degrees, necessary for a precise trajectory vital for the experiments. A launch at 85 degrees with a 381 kg tip, after wind correction, resulted in a distortion of 2.5 km for the first stage and 1.5 km for the second stage. The rocket's control was managed by system named "Pascal".

Launches

Two successful Titus rocket launches occurred on November 12, 1966, from the Las Palmas Chaco firing range in Argentina, in collaboration between

CNES CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...

and the Argentinian agency CNIE.

References

{{Reflist Rockets and missiles Onera sounding rockets