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CERES Ile Du Levant
CERES ("Centre d'Essais et de Recherches d'Engins Spéciaux" for "''Special Weapons Research and Tests Center"'') Ile du Levant was a French suborbital rocket launch site, located at Levant Island, Ile du Levant, and active between 1956 and 1968. CERES played a pivotal role in testing a wide array of tactical missiles used in France, as well as conducting tests for sounding rockets on behalf of CNES and European Space Research Organisation, ESRO. Additionally, the center was involved in experiments with ONERA and Société d'étude et de réalisation d'engins balistiques, SEREB experimental vehicles, solidifying its significance in the realm of missile research and testing. History In the early 1950s, a military missile test site was established at the French naval base on the Ile du Levant, an offshore island in the Mediterranean near Toulon. Known as CERES, it replaced a beach site at Pampelonne used for launches since 1948. This facility served as a Naval Air Force base thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 founded as the ''Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aéronautiques'' (National Office for Aeronautical Studies and Research) in 1946, it was relabeled in 1963. It is France's leading research center in aerospace and defense. It covers all disciplines and technologies in the field. Numerous high-profile French and European aerospace programs have passed through the ONERA since its creation including the Ariane family of launch vehicles, the Concorde supersonic airliner, the Dassault Mirage family of fighter aircraft and the Rafale, the Dassault Falcon family of business jets, Aérospatiale and later Airbus projects, missiles, engines, radars and many more. Under the supervision of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, it is a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarès (OPd-56-39-22D)
The Antarès (OPd-56-39-22D) was a French multistage rocket designed by ONERA for reentry studies. In the late 1950s, the study of missile warhead reentry necessitated the development of a more robust rocket than the existing OR, VD and OPd series. The Antarès rocket, designated OPd-56-39-22D during its developmental phase, was designed to facilitate the study of kinetic heating on objects flying at speeds up to Mach number, Mach 7. Description Measuring 12.2 meters in length and boasting a takeoff weight of up to 1785 kg, the rocket consisted of four stages. Three of these stages were ignited in an upward trajectory, reaching altitudes of up to 150 km, while the fourth stage accelerated the payload during its descent. Utilizing all four stages during ascent, Antares had the capability to send a payload of 35 kg to an altitude of 280 km. The first stage featured a SEPR 734-1 Vesuve motor with a diameter of 56 cm and a length of 3.5 m, delivering a tota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocket Launch Sites In France
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely from propellant carried within the vehicle; therefore a rocket can fly in the vacuum of space. Rockets work more efficiently in a vacuum and incur a loss of thrust due to the opposing pressure of the atmosphere. Multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared with airbreathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large accelerations. To control their flight, rockets rely on momentum, airfoils, auxiliary reaction engines, gimballed thrust, momentum wheels, deflection of the exhaust stream, propellant flow, spin, or gravity. Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th-century China. Significant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Program Of France
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as ''spacetime''. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe. However, disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework. In the 19th and 20th centuries mathematicians began to examine geometries that are non-Euclidean, in which space is conceived as '' curved'', rather than '' flat'', as in the Euclidean space. According to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, space around gravitational fields deviates from Euclidean space. Experimental tests of general relativity have confirmed that non-Euclidean geometries provide a better model fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dauphin (rocket)
The Dauphin is a French sounding rocket, flown six times between 1967 and 1979. It consists of a modification of the first stage of the Dragon with a larger payload nosecone. The Dauphin has a diameter of 56 centimetres, a launch weight of 1.132 metric tons, a length of 6.21 metres, a takeoff thrust of 90 newton (unit), kN and a ceiling of 150 kilometres. It belonged to the ''Stromboli'' family of Solid-propellant rocket, solid-propellant including the Belier (rocket), Belier, the Centaure (rocket), Centaure, and the Dragon, along with the Éridan (rocket), Eridan. Launches The first launch occurred on March 20, 1967 from Hammaguir, Hammaguira and was a failure. The three next flights, from CERES Ile du Levant, Ile du Levant and Biscarrosse, Biscarosse were successful. On September 14, 1971, a Dauphin rocket was first launched from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, conducting the ''PHARE (FU-196) Aeronomy mission''. A final launch happened on February 8, 1979 to test the Ariane l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tacite (rocket)
The inaugural member of ONERA sounding rockets fleet, the Tacite (Tentative d'Analyse du Contraste Infrarouge Terre-Espace, for ''Attempt to Analyze the Earth-Space Infrared Contrast''), was a single-stage vehicle, used between 1965 and 1968. Description Designed and developed by the ''Office national d'études et de recherches aérospatiales'' (ONERA), it was a single-stage vehicle equipped with a SEPR 739-2 ''Stromboli'' engine fueled by ‘''Plastoline''’ propellant, offering a propulsion duration of 20 seconds. The rocket incorporates small nitrogen ejection nozzles to induce rotation and employs aerodynamic stabilization by a cruciform tailfin. With a total mass of 1738 kg (excluding the useful tip), Tacite reached a height of nearly 8 meters. It had the capability to propel a 285 kg payload to an altitude of 160 km. Launches Operational between 1965 and 1968, this rocket underwent four launches, experiencing one failure. See also * Tibère (rocket) * Bèrè ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LEX (sounding Rocket)
LEX (French: Lithergol EXpérimentale) was a French experimental Hybrid-propellant rocket, hybrid-propellant sounding rocket, developed by ONERA. It had the objective of testing a ''lithergol'' fueled rocket engine (an hybrid mixture of Solid-propellant rocket, solid and Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid propellants - Nylon-metatoluidine, tolueneamine as fuel and mixture of nitric acid and nitrogen tetroxide as Oxidizing agent, oxidizer). It was the first rocket in history to use this technology, flying 8 times between 1964 and 1967. The rocket had a single stage with a thrust of 10.00 kN (MT.27 hybrid rocket motor), a gross mass of 100 kg, a height of 3.40 m, and a diameter of 0.16 m, reaching an apogee of 130 km. Launches All LEX launches were carried out from CERES Ile du Levant. The first LEX-01 launch on 25 April 1964 was a partial success, with the payload consisting of a telemetry transmitter. Three LEX-02 rockets were fired on 1 June 1965. One of these ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bérénice (rocket)
Bérénice was the designation of a four-stage French atmospheric reentry test rocket, developed by O.N.E.R.A. (''Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales''). Description Bérénice was long, possessed a diameter of and weighed at launch. The takeoff thrust of Bérénice, which could carry a payload of to a height of , amounted to . The first stage, a SEPR-739 ''Stromboli'', was stabilised by four SEPR-P167 rockets developing . The second stage consisted of a SEPR-740 ''Stromboli'', almost identical to the first stage. The third stage was a SEPR-P200 ''Tramontane'' and the fourth stage comprised a '' Mélanie'' rocket and payload. Launches The twelve production rockets, Bérénice 001 to Bérénice 012, were launched by ONERA from Ile du Levant from 1962 to 1966. See also * Tibère (rocket) * Antarès (OPd-56-39-22D) * Mélanie (rocket) * Veronique (rocket) * French space program The French space program includes both commercial spaceflight, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centaure (rocket)
Centaure was a two-stage French sounding rocket consisting of a Venus first stage and a Belier second stage. It belongs to a family of solid-propellant rockets consisting of the Belier, Centaure, Dragon, Dauphin, and Eridan. It was operated by Sud-Aviation between 1961 and 1986. Centaure rockets were launched from the CIEES/ Hammaguir missile range, Reggane, CELPA, Salto di Quirra, Esrange, Thumba, Sonmiani, and Andøya. It had a maximum payload of 60 kg, an apogee of 130-146 km, a launch thrust of 44 kN, a launch weight of 500-600 kg, a diameter of 0.28 m and a length of 5.9-6.3 m. Versions There were various versions of Centaure rockets: Launches A large number of Centaure rockets was launched between 1961 and 1986: See also * Belier * Dauphin * Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agate (rocket)
VE 110 Agate is the designation of an unguided French test rocket developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was part of the ''Pierres précieuses'' (fr.: gemstones) program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir, leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket. The Agate has a length of 8.50 metres, a diameter of 0.80 metres, a start mass of 3.2 tonnes, a takeoff thrust of 186 kN and a ceiling of 20 km. It used a ''NA801 Mammouth'' solid propellant rocket engine (same as the Rubis VE-210). The initial version was designated VE (Véhicule Expérimental) 110, while the VE 110RR version was used to develop recovery procedures at sea. The name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 1 stage, using solid propulsion (code 1), and not guided (code 0). File:PierrePrecieusesf.png, Military space program Pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) that included the five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
